The Ancient Connection
by Soniclink137
Summary: Light and Fennix, heroes who save the world from Dark Matter, share another connection. They both met before in the ancient past, but both lost their memories of that event. Now they have a chance to learn more about that past from one who knows all about it. But they must also battle their doubts in learning that info. A Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon Story.
1. An Ancient Treasure

Within a dark cave in the side of a mountain, a lone Pokémon walked through a narrow passageway. That Pokémon, one that looked like sandy colored rocks walking along the gray rocks of the cave, looking around frantically for something. They eventually found it, a small golden ingot within the top of part of the wall. Their face lit up at the sight of it, and they hastened themselves onward.

It was only seconds later when they reached the room they were looking for. The room was fully gilded, and the shine from it was a light within the deep dark cave. Various treasures were also filled in the room: red jars with golden rings and jewels around it, golden furniture, silky purple carpets with gold trimming around it that looked comfortable and beautiful, and in the center, a red treasure chest filled with golden coins. The Pokémon's eyes lit up at the sight of everything in the room.

"So, this is it," he said with his deep voice. "The famous Gilded Room. The treasures here are said to be centuries old. And these treasures are mine! Woo! Early retirement and a life of luxury here I come!"

The Pokémon walked forward to pick up the treasures, but stopped as soon as a noise reached his ears.

"Halt!" two young voices, a male and a female, rang out.

"Wha…who's there?" the Pokémon asked.

"This area is reserved for the Expedition Society for an archeological investigation," the young female voice said. "This area needs to be preserved as an archeological relic. Turn back now."

"W-who's gonna stop me?" the Pokémon asked, starting to grow angry. "Show yourselves!"

"Heh, you'll regret asking that," the young female voice said confidently.

First a yellow mouse wearing a green stripped scarf jumped down, his lighting shaped tail wreathed in a silver coating. "The Luminescent Blade, Light," the young male voice said.

Next a yellow fox wearing a similar green scarf as her partner came from above, swirling fire around her when she landed on the ground. "The Fiery Spirit, Fennix," the young female voice said.

The duo pointed with their right paws at the golem. "You can't beat us; 'cause we'll just rise from ashes to fight again. We're the Expedition Society's main explorers, Team Rebirth!"

The golem took a step back out of surprise. "Wha…Team...Rebirth? Who…?" But, after a couple seconds of stuttering, the rock/ground-type eventually realized something, and when he did, he looked at the duo with anger. "Wait a minute, you're just a couple of kids! Scram! Go play somewhere else!"

"Couple of kids?" Fennix asked. "Oh come on! That totally sounded cool!"

Light just rolled his eyes. "Give it up, Fennix," he said. Looking at the golem, he said, "Regardless, we are members of the Expedition Society, and this place is still closed off. So sorry, but you're gonna have to leave now."

"Excuse me!" the golem yelled. "I ain't gonna let this random pikachu kid tell me what to do. How about the two of you skedaddle before I make you wish you did!"

"Heh, we're not afraid of you," Fennix said pridefully. "Bring it on!"

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!" the golem announced.

He quickly ran towards the two kids, prepared to barrel over them. While he was running, Light's eyes glowed green and he kneeled down to place his left paw on the ground, green energy pouring to the floor. Suddenly, a small spot of grass grew under the golem's feet, tripping him. While he was tripping, Light wreathed his tail in silver again and slammed his tail into the golem's face, knocking him backwards while he was falling forwards.

Golem eventually got himself back up and looked at Light angrily this time. "Alright kid, the kid gloves come off now!" the golem said.

"Sure, sure," Light said in a board voice. "Just one more thing, first." He smiled. "Good-bye."

Light jumped into the air, doing a backflip, when a green light filled the golem's vision. The Solarbeam, shot straight from the mouth of Fennix, blew golem back like he was as light as paper. The force of the attack sent golem flying away from the Gilded Room and away from the treasure he was after.

Light wiped the dust off him and the sweat from the fur on his forehead after the battle. The golem was gone and, if Light had a guess, he probably wasn't coming back. So, Light relaxed his muscles for now, while there weren't any enemies around. Fennix on the other hand, was celebrating by bounding around and wagging her tail happily.

"Wow, that was so fun!" Fennix called out cheerfully. "No wonder boss Pokémon spend so much time at the end of dungeons. It's so much fun ambushing Pokémon at the end!"

"The Expedition Society are apparently great influences," Light snarked with a light-hearted chuckle.

"Oh come on, Light, you can't tell me that wasn't fun," Fennix said. "Admit it!"

Light just rolled his eyes. "Don't forget why we're here," Light said, changing the subject. "We need to keep Pokémon out until the Chief and Mawile get here."

"Yeah, I know," Fennix said. "It's strange, though. Didn't the Chief say that no one would come around?"

Before Light could even answer, they both heard a buzzing sound within their ears. Light and Fennix reached into their green scarves and got out a gray-blue hexagonal device with circular nubs at each of the six corners, minus the one at the bottom. The two pressed their Expedition Gadgets, and it started to glow, projecting a voice from the device.

"Light, Fennix, can you hear me?" the female voice asked.

"Loud and clear Dedenne," Light responded. "What's up?"

"Just checking in to see how you two are doing," Dedenne said. "You guys bored over there already? I kinda feel sorry you guys got the short end of the stick and were forced to wait there."

"Pfft, are you kidding?" Fennix asked. "We've been having a blast!"

"Uhh…?"

Light decided to fill Dedenne in on what happened in the past couple of minutes.

"So that golem called it the Gilded Room, huh?" Dedenne asked. "I'm glad you guys managed to beat it but this…isn't good. I thought we were the first to discover this place. But if it's a legend among explorers…"

"I'd guess having random bounty hunters coming in for loot while we're researching this place isn't exactly good, right?" Light asked.

"Mawile and the Chief should be able to handle pretty much everyone that comes, but we'd worry about accidently damaging the artifacts," Dedenne mused. "We might need to excavate the place and have Mawile examine them at base."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Fennix said.

"I'll be sending Bunnelby over as soon as he comes back," Dedenne said. "He's pretty good at doing this like that. We were going to have you guys come back as soon as the Chief and Mawile got there, but would you three mind waiting there until Bunnelby gets there as well? We're going to need as many paws as possible to get all treasures out of there for examination."

"We're gonna have to carry all of these artifacts out?!" Fennix asked.

"We'll be here," Light promised, ignoring his partner's outburst.

"Alright, good to know," Dedenne said, also ignoring Fennix. "I need to contact the Chief now. Dedenne, out!"

Their Expedition Devices lost their glow and Light placed his immediately back into his scarf. He stretched, letting out a small noise as he did so, before looking over at his partner. All it took was one look at her face for him to tell she was annoyed.

"Hey, it could be worse," Light said.

"Yeah, I know," Fennix admitted. "But this sounds like a lot of annoying work getting everything out of here and back to the base."

"Not all our work is going to be fun," Light mentioned. "You'd figure we're going to have tedious moments working for the society sometimes. Just think of it this way: at least the reward will be pretty good."

"Yeah, you're right," Fennix said. She looked towards the treasures behind them. "We can examine these artifacts, figure out why they're made, for what purpose, and advance our knowledge about the past. We can learn a whole bunch from these artifacts. I get that." Fennix faced Light. "What do you think we'll learn from these?"

"Hmm…" Light looked towards the treasures. "Well, from a glance you can tell the Pokémon like beautiful objects. This place looks really amazing and the objects here look really valuable. They must want whatever is beautiful regardless of the difficulty getting it or the cost. But I don't know…it seems like kinda a waste to keep them all horded up like that."

"There could be many reasons for why they horde these valuable objects here, actually," a voice from behind Team Rebirth said. Light and Fennix turned around to see Mawile and Ampharos walking into the Gilded Room, Ampharos looking as dizzy and out of it as usual when traveling anywhere.

"Chief Ampharos, Mawile, good to see you two," Fennix said as she saw them. "Glad to see you guys here quickly!"

"Yes, well as you can see, I made it here just fine," Ampharos said.

"So, how many times did you get lost?" Light asked.

"He ended up going the wrong way only once or twice," Mawile said. "Beyond that, we made it here without much incident, which is why we're ahead of schedule."

Light nodded. "Alright then. So what do you mean by the many reasons why they horde objects like this?" Light asked.

"To whoever created this room, having all these jewels and gold could be a sign of wealth or stature," Mawile explained. "Or these objects were a gift that was given to the previous owner of the room, increasing the value of these objects beyond the point where they would be willing to part with them. It's hard to say for sure right now, but it's fascinating thinking about why they would want to keep these hidden and safe."

"Kinda makes me feel bad for taking them, then," Fennix said.

"I can understand the feeling, my young friend," Ampharos said. "Thinking of that does make one feel guilty for taking these away. However, the original owner has likely passed away centuries ago and these objects are doing nothing sitting here, collecting dust. Instead, we can put them to good use in helping us understand society as it was around that time. In that way, we give the objects an extra purpose."

Ampharos nodded. "Of course, that's just my personal feelings on the subject. You are free to disagree with me."

"Better than letting some bounty hunter get their hands on it," Light said.

Fennix's face lit up with realization. "Oh, yeah, that's right! Did you guys here from Dedenne about…?"

"We did indeed," Mawile answered before Fennix finished. "We also heard that Bunnelby is on his way. While we're waiting for him, it's best we inspect the objects to determine how best to move them."

"How are we moving them anyways?" Light asked. "Are we like, burrowing under the guild or something?"

"That is correct," Mawile said. "We have a small tunnel underneath the Society building. Bunnelby usually keeps it covered for us when it's not in use, so no one accidently falls in, but we can transport and store the objects there temporarily

"Oh, really?" Fennix asked, her eyes glowing. "Cool! We have a secret passage under the building! That's amazing!"

"Glad to know after how long we've been in the Society," Light snarked.

"Well well well, I wonder why that was never mentioned until now," Ampharos asked.

Mawile explained. "We were busy with the turning to stone incidents at the time and had no use for it. This is the first time we've had a reason to use it since then. So, since we didn't use it, we didn't think of whether the two of you knew it existed or not."

Light waved a paw. "It's alright," he said. "We didn't really need to know it until now anyways."

"Alright then. Would you two terribly mind helping us inspect the place before Bunnelby gets here?" Ampharos asked.

"We're on it Chief," Light said with a nod.

* * *

After finishing excavating the place, and a long dinner, Light and Fennix were resting together in their crew room. Light was lying with his back on his straw building, paws behind his head, looking up towards the pinkish celling of his crew room. He could hear some rubbing and smelled some smoke to his right, prompting him to look in that direction. There he saw Fennix against the pink back wall, writing underneath the brown framed window in her red diary. She wrote with a small stick sticking out of her mouth that had a small concentrated fire burning to burn out the words of the page she was one. A part of Light found it kinda impressive that she was able to control the fire that well, and the other part remembered how worried he was that she would accidently burn down the building when he first saw her doing it. There was a highly flammable rope on the wall to her right and some guild rules to her left that she could hit if she weren't careful. Still, Fennix did that same routine every day and hadn't burned down anything yet, so Light let her be.

"So, writing about today in there?" Light asked.

"Mmm…mostly," she answered, still concentrated on her work. "Talking about what happened, how awesome Bunnelby was while excavating, all the treasures, things like that."

Light gave a contented sigh before going into his thoughts. _I've always been curious as to what exactly you write in there. But, I figure if there's anything I need to know, you'd tell me._ He chuckled. _Not that I could sneak a peek anyways. We're always together, so it's hard to actually take a look without her noticing._

"Mawile should be examining those treasures right now," Light said. "Wonder what she's going to find out?"

"I hope we learn something cool!" Fennix mentioned. "Did you know that this building was made based on some of Mawile's findings? It's really awesome when you think about it! We're living in a piece of history!"

"Sure, sounds cool," Light said. "Anyways, when you're done writing in that, we should get some sleep. It's getting late and tomorrow's another day."

"Alright, just give me a couple," Fennix said.

Light closed his eyes, preparing to fall asleep. And, as the seconds ticked by and the only sound was the slight methodical sounds of the fire burning, Light felt himself losing consciousness quickly. _Night…Fennix_ , Light thought as he finally felt himself starting to fall asleep.

"…Excuse me," a voice asked, loud enough so Light could hear it in his half-conscious state without being too loud. Still, it was enough that it aroused Light back up, so he opened his eyes to see who was calling to him.

The first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes was Fennix, stick still in her mouth and still smoking, looking over at the entrance. So, Light shifted his head around towards the other side to see Mawile was standing there at the entrance to their room, looking over the two of them. Light quickly shifted himself so that he was sitting up in his bed instead of lying down as he looked over his superior.

"Mawile," Light said. "What are you here for?"

"There's something I found among the artifacts we found today that I want the two of you to inspect for me, if you don't mind," Mawile explained.

"The two…of us?" Fennix asked.

Light looked over her for a few seconds before guessing what Mawile was exactly asking for. "Alright, I get why you want Fennix there, but why me?" Light asked.

"You're right, I do mostly need Fennix there," Mawile admitted. "However, I figure you'd want to know, just in case anyways."

"Wait…what's going on?" Fennix asked, still not getting it.

Light examined Mawile a couple of seconds before nodding. "Alright, show us," he said.

Mawile nodded before turning to leave, Light and Fennix following her. They took a right, walking towards the central meeting room. In there, the brown floor was usually adorned with the Expedition Society's symbol, a gear with a Pokémon symbol inside of it, but this time in the center of the circle was a hole that was dug up from below, where Mawile held the treasures. Mawile jumped down to the treasure room, Light and Fennix hopping down close behind her.

There they saw that, since they left, Mawile and Bunnelby made the hole below the floor into the exact shape and size of the Gilded Room, placing the treasures into positions similar to the ones they were in the room. They even made a hole to simulate the cave entrance that lead to the Gilded Room, despite Bunnelby closing off passage between the cave and the society so they couldn't be followed. The only differences were the ladder to get in, and that Mawile placed up a bunch of lanterns on the walls around the room to help her see better. Beyond that, it was exactly the same, down to the last detail. Light's mouth opened up in amazement at how well they recreated the room.

"Geez, you didn't spare a single detail, did you?" Light asked.

"Recreating the original room is just as important as having the objects in the first place," Mawile said. "There could be several reasons as to why each object is placed where it is, and discovering that reason could tell us a lot about their original owner. But that stuff is not why you're here."

Mawile walked over to one of the red jars and reached into it. Hidden within was a small gray tablet, a stark contrast to all the gold and jeweled objects within the room. "I noticed this object immediately and found it strange compared to the more valuable objects in the room," Mawile explained as she grabbed it and brought it back to Light and Fennix for them to examine. "Why would they leave something like this in an otherwise astatically beautiful room, especially hiding it when there are more valuable things to hide. But…after looking at it, I quickly figured out why it was here." Mawile placed it down in front of Light and Fennix to allow them a look at it. Light immediately knew what Mawile was talking about just from looking at.

"That's…the Ancient Footprint Runes, right?" Light asked.

Mawile nodded. "Yeah, exactly," he said. "So Fennix, if you would."

Fennix looked over the stone tablet for a few seconds, mumbling to herself as she did. Eventually her eyes widened in shock. "This…this can't be!" she yelled.

"'Can't be?'" Mawile asked.

"What is it, Fennix?" Light also asked.

"I-t's nothing, it's just…" Fennix looked over the words on the tablet one more time. "I just…don't understand…"

"Really?" Mawile asked. "I thought you said, despite the fact that you lost all memories of being Mew in coming back to this world, that you can still read the ancient script."

"T-that's not what I mean," Fennix said. "I mean…I can read what's written on here, but I'm not sure I believe it."

"How about you just tell us what it says?" Light asked, cutting to the chase.

Fennix paused for a moment. "It…it says: 'Thank you for all your help in the fight against Dark Matter. I won't be needing any of these treasures anymore, so you may keep them. I just have one thing to ask you." Fennix paused for a second before continuing. "A young fennekin will appear sometime in the future somewhere outside of that mountain we chose to seal the Luminous Water away in, generations from now. It should be in a forest somewhere outside the village that's being built there to protect the springs. I want you to ensure that the scarves are wrapped around her when she appears.'"

"W-wait, is it talking about?" Light asked, his eyes directed on the green scarf around Fennix's neck, a replica of the ones talked about in the tablet.

"I was always curious about that, actually," Mawile said. "According to the Chief, he learned that the Harmony Scarves were passed down through generations of a certain tribe. Therefore, the scarves likely didn't simply appear on you as Mew finished his reincarnation into Fennix. So how did you come to possess those scarves?"

Fennix looked to the floor, shaking her head as she did so. "I don't really know," Fennix admitted. "I lost all my memories of the past when I came back. So I don't know who Mew gave those treasures to, nor who he entrusted the Harmony Scarves to. All I know is what my pops said. He told me that he found the scarves already on me when he found me. I don't know anything else."

"Hmm…" Light mused. "I'm not really much help either. I haven't regained any of my memories from when I was a human either."

 _Not that I mind,_ Light admitted to himself. _I'm perfectly fine with just being Light the Pikachu, partner to Fennix and part of the Expedition Society's Team Rebirth. I don't need to know who I was._

"Yes, I'm curious about this letter as well," Mawile said. "How did Mew know that the Pokémon they entrusted the scarves to would ensure the scarves reached you when they were needed? Several generations would have passed in between those events and now. We know for a fact that much about what went on back then has been lost to the sands of time, only to be recently uncovered. Yet the request was still accomplished somehow."

Light thought about things for a few seconds, his paw rubbing under his chin. "Hmm… we could ask Xerneas, I guess," Light said. "But…I'd rather not do that. At least, not yet. Besides, he'd be able to tell us who Mew entrusted the scarves to in the first place, but not who gave it to Fennix."

 _Besides, last time Xerneas gave Fennix memories…that happened,_ Light thought. _And I'd rather not go through that again._

"I suppose that makes sense," Mawile said. "I'd keep that as a possibility, though."

"We will," Light lied, hoping in the depths of his heart that it wouldn't come to that. "But for now, I guess we'll just have to look elsewhere."

Fennix nodded. "Our next Expedition, then."

"I figured you guys would say that," Mawile said. "I'll clear it with the Chief for you guys. For now, I'd recommend you two get some sleep. Tomorrow you can begin your expedition."

Light bowed. "Thanks Mawile, we'll do that." Looking towards Fennix, Light nodded. "Let's head to our rooms and rest up then. Tomorrow, we'll head out."

"Yeah, on it," Fennix said.

The two of the walked the ladder out of the hole and back into the waiting room. Light lead them back to their room, where he immediately went to his bed back into the same position he was before Mawile interrupted. Fennix, on the other hand, stood up in her bed, looking at the pikachu as he closed his eyes.

"So…where are we gonna start, anyway?" Fennix asked before Light fell asleep. "Do you have a plan?"

"I've got a plan, actually," Light said. "You see, we're really stuck when you think about it. We could wait for Mawile to discover more about the place and its owner, but we don't even know if that will help us. That Pokémon could be long gone by now. Instead, I think it's best if we search the place Carracosta found you."

"The place my old pops found me?!" Fennix asked.

"It's just a feeling I've got, honestly," Light said. "Maybe if we find where you were born, we can find some clue as to how the scarves got there. It's an idea, anyways."

"Admit it, you just want an excuse to go back to Serene Village," Fennix teased.

"Maybe," Light admitted, "but it's still a thought, either way."

"Yeah, I get it," Fennix said. She finally lied down on her stomach in her bed and closed her eyes. "Alright then, tomorrow we'll go to Serene Village. We'll ask my Pops where he found me and we'll find out more. My past, your past, tomorrow we'll find out more about both. So let's do our best tomorrow."

"Yeah, we will," Light said with a smile.

Before he went to sleep, though, he had one last thought that took his smile away quickly. _I just…hope that nothing happens because of this. According to Xerneas, Fennix was only able to come back in the first place because she grew different enough from Mew that she had her own soul. But…if Fennix learns more about her past life…could that be enough to…?_

Light shook his head. _No…I shouldn't think like this. Fennix would hate me for thinking like this. I'll just have to help her as best as I can…tomorrow._


	2. Scars of the Past

A golden arch where fresh air blasts through was the signal that one entered Serene Village. Beyond that arch was the small village square where Pokemon could be seen meeting and chatting with each other, Kecleon's shop and the Deposit Box for commerce, and Kangaskhan's Café where weary souls could go for drinks and rest. To the north of the village and the right of its entrance was the Pokémon school for the kids of the village would go and learn. To the south of the square was a small lake, aptly called Serene Lake, which was anything but in the summer when the kids decide to play on its beach.

As Light passed through the golden arch, a tick of nostalgia passed through his heart and he couldn't help but smile a bit brighter. Thoughts of the best and worst moments that Light can remember filled him as he entered the village, and those thoughts almost overwhelmed him. He knew he was here for work, so he couldn't go to his favorite places and just relax in the fresh autumn air, but the temptation to do so threatened to grab him and take him away before he even knew what happened.

In a twist of the usual paradigm, it was Fennix who was all about business when they entered her childhood home. "I wonder whether my Pops is at home or out today? Think we should maybe ask someone?" the young fennekin asked, eyes darting around for any sign of her adoptive father.

"Slow down, Fennix," Light said. "We don't need to be too hasty. Your pops isn't going anywhere. Why not calm down and relax a little? This is our first time back home in a long time."

"Hey, I like relaxing as much as the next fennekin, but we're here on a mission," Fennix said.

Light chuckled. "Who are you and what have you done with Fennix?" he asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with Light?" Fennix responded with a smile.

Both expedition society members burst out in soft laughter under the golden arch, enjoying the irony of their responses to the situation. But, despite the laughter, Light knew why Fennix was so hesitant to spend too much time in Serene Village. He could see it in her eyes, even as they laughed. A hint of the scars of her past.

"Alright, fine," Light said. "Let's see if we can find someone to ask about Carracosta. But you owe me a trip to the hill before we head back."

"Deal," Fennix said, but Light knew that she didn't need any paw twisting to convince her to go to the hill with the big tree. That area outside of the village was significant to the both of them and there was very little in the world that could stop them from going to that tree.

Light took a quick look around the various Pokémon currently standing around the square when he noticed a orange shape and a gray shape out of his left eye, chatting over the lake. Light looked closer and immediately identified the shapes as Deerling, in her Fall Form, and Espurr, his former classmates when he went to Serene Village's school. Light gave Fennix a quick tap on her left shoulder with his right paw before pointing that paw in the direction of the two children. Fennix nodded and they both made a beeline towards Espurr and Deerling.

"Hey you guys," Light said as Fennix and him got closer to announced his presence.

Espurr and Deerling looked in Team Rebirth's direction with surprise at their voices. When Light and Fennix stopped in front of them, Deerling spoke first.

"Light? Fennix? What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"We're here on official Expedition Society business!" Fennix said, striking a pose by jumping, spinning around a few times, and then putting her right foreleg in the air with Expedition Society Badge glinting in her paw.

Confused, Deerling and Espurr turned their gaze away from Fennix and towards Light, looking at him for an explanation. "She's actually not kidding," Light said. "We're actually here on a mission from the Expedition Society." So Light quickly explained exactly what happened in the previous day and why they were both in Serene Village.

"Pfft, I would have said that if you gave me the time," Fennix growled, her badge back in her scarf and her four paws on the ground.

"Sorry Fennix, but it would have been nice if you explained that earlier instead of striking a pose," Deerling said, with an unamused expression on her face.

"Alright, fine," Fennix groaned. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking again. "So, have you guys seen my Pops at all today?" She asked.

"I didn't see Mr. Carracosta pass by my window this morning," Espurr said. "So, at least as of this morning, he was in his house. Beyond that, I'm not sure." Espurr looked towards Deerling. "Do you know?" she asked.

"I haven't seen Mr. Carracosta around either," Deerling said. "Though I guess we really haven't tried looking for him. He might have just slipped our notice."

"Espurr, would you mind checking to see where he is with your telepathy?" Light asked. "That should help us figure things out pretty easily."

"That's a good idea, Light," Espurr said. "I'll try it."

So Espurr closed her eyes and started pacing back and forth. While she was doing that, Light could almost swear he felt Espurr's mind pass through his. He wasn't sure whether that actually happened when the Psychic-type did her telepathic scan or not, but always felt that when he knew Espurr was using her telepathy.

 _I just hope a Psychic-type isn't poking around my brain without permission,_ Light thought on the subject while waiting for Espurr's answer. _That sounds…kinda creepy._

Eventually, Espurr suddenly stopped her pacing. "Oh, hi Mr. Carracosta," Espurr said out loud, though Light and Fennix knew she was talking telepathically. "No, I'm just looking for you. …Well, not really me so much as Light and Fennix. …Yeah, they're here. They're apparently on Expedition Society business. …Alright, I'll send them over."

Espurr opened her eyes back up and looked at Light and Fennix. "Mr. Carracosta is in his house right now. I made sure he knows you're coming."

Light smiled and bowed. "Thanks Espurr," he said.

"Yeah, thanks," Fennix said. "Alright, Light, let's go see my Pops!"

Before anybody could say anything else, Fennix ran off towards the western side of Serene Village where her old house is. Light was much slower to join her in her sprint, and the pikachu instead just watched her run off until she was outside of his vision. After she was gone, Light gave a soft sigh before turning around to look back at Espurr and Deerling.

"Fennix seems to be really hasty today," Espurr noticed.

"I can think of a couple of reasons why that is," Light said. "I love Serene Village. I love how relaxed everyone here is, how nice they are, how fresh the air is, things like that. And while I think Fennix does love this place a lot more then she'd admit, she loves working for the Expedition Society more. It's the first place she was completely accepted and where she can explore without being yelled at by the adults. A lot of the things she used to do around here that got her in trouble she now gets praised for doing. She's really found her place with them. And since this is Expedition Society work, she wants to focus on that more then on the village she was once an outcast in."

"I guess that's sort of our fault," Deerling said. "With Fennix being the troublemaker, most of us wanted to avoid her, since being with her meant we would get in trouble ourselves. Goomy himself got lost more times while exploring with Fennix then the one you were a part of."

Light sighed. "It's not your fault," he said. "Even I called her annoying at first. We really only got to be friends because I ended up outcasted too and got to know her better. And she has really grown since those days. But…"

"Those scars haven't faded away," Espurr said.

Light quickly changed the subject to something on a more positive note. "Another thing is that we might learn a bit about our pasts in this mission. Whoever had the gold and jewels in that cave was also given the Harmony Scarves to give to Fennix when she was born. If we can figure out who they are, we might be able to figure out who gave Fennix the Harmony Scarves in the first place. They might even have some notes from their ancestor talking about Mew and…me."

"Shouldn't you be just as excited as Fennix then?" Espurr asked.

Light didn't answer that. He didn't even know how to answer that. Instead, for an awkward minute, there was silence as Light worked through his conflicted feelings on those words Espurr asked. He just stood there rubbing the back of his head with his right paw unspeaking. It took the pikachu a couple of seconds to figure out just what he was thinking, let alone saying anything.

 _I…really don't know,_ he thought. _I have a lot of questions about myself but…I don't know if I want any answers._

"A-anyways, where's Goomy?" Light asked Deerling to quickly chance the subject. "You usually hang out with him."

"He's sick today," Deerling said, not pressing on the early question despite her confused face. "Now that school's started up again and it's gotten colder, a cold has passed around. It got Pancham, then Budew, and now it's hit Goomy. So he's at home resting."

Light chuckled. "Guess you guys are really busy with school, huh? Even if I was bored out of my mind most of the time, I do kinda miss going to school with you guys. It was fun hanging out with you all. Next break, we should all go on an adventure."

"That sounds fun," Espurr said.

Before Light could say anything else, he heard a certain Fire fox call his name from the distance. "Well, I better catch up with Fennix, then," Light said when he heard it. "Arceus knows that, if I don't, she'll come back eventually to drag me over."

So Light ran off on all four paws in Fennix's direction. It didn't take him too long to find her; she was just on the right of where the path splits in two, going left and right. When Light caught up with her, she had a bored expression.

"Took you long enough," Fennix said.

"Sorry," Light said. "But I got caught up in chatting with Espurr and Deerling. Anyways, let's go meet with Carracosta."

Fennix nodded. "Yeah. Let's head off."

Fennix began her walk up the hill with Light following right behind her. They walked up the hill, passing by several other villagers to whom Light gave a curt nod, until they reached the top of the hill where two houses lied. One looked like all the other houses, tan with a brown roof, was where Light spent his time when he first came into the world and the other, a house with what looked like a blue shell over it and a red mailbox in front, was where Fennix's adopted father was.

Fennix quickly entered her house with Light following slowly behind. As he entered, Light could smell the fruity aroma of Carracosta's cooking coming from his doorway, likely because he heard his daughter was coming. The pleasurable scent put a large smile on his face that he thought he wouldn't lose so long as the smell persists. It was such a powerful aroma that Fennix, having lived in this house and eaten those foods for years, had a faint trace of those scents in her fur even after joining the Expedition Society and spending large amounts of time away from home doing difficult work in harsh areas.

Light's good mood as he walked into the house lasted until he looked at everyone in the house and realized that there were three other Pokémon aside from himself. Along with Carracosta, who was at the sink, and Fennix, who was behind him on his left side looking up, there was one other in the room. And that Pokémon caught Light's gaze as he walked in causing the pikachu to stop in his tracks.

"Oh…hi Nuzleaf," Light said, his voice a pained whisper as he noticed the Pokémon who was once his foster parent.

"Hello Light," Nuzleaf said just as awkwardly. "F-fancy seein you here."

"Fennix is here," Light pointed out. "So of course I'm here as well."

Light then realized how harsh what he said was. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while trying to think of a way of apologizing for what he said, but no words came from his mouth. They both just stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds before giving each other a curt nod of acknowledgement to focus on other things.

Light quickly and awkwardly shuffled to Fennix's side where he also looked up at Carracosta while he was cooking. They both waited patiently for him to be done, letting the seconds tick by without saying anything, knowing full well the consequences of disturbing Carracosta while he was cooking. Therefore, they had to wait a few minutes for Carracosta to be done with what he was doing. When he was done, he placed the plates full of food on the table in the middle of the house before facing his daughter and her friend.

"Light…Fennix…welcome home," Carracosta said. "I understand you are here for business, but we can talk over dinner."

"Alright, let's eat!" Fennix said cheerfully before immediately running to the other side of the table where she usually ate from. Light chuckled, amused that all her talk of 'Expedition Society business' was shut down immediacy by the prospect of food. He couldn't blame her, though, Carracosta had an excellent spread of berries and sweets on the table and Light's mouth was watering just thinking about it. So Light walked over to his spot next to Fennix and started digging in as well, grabbing the mix of Chesto and Rawst berries for himself to eat. Out of the corner of his eye, Light noticed that Nuzleaf was also eating, though much slower than the rest.

After a few minutes, Carracosta got down to business. "So you're here on Expedition Society Business, right? That's what your friend Espurr said. What kind of business does the Expedition Society have here?"

"Mell mur moling fur mhere me me er," Fennix said in a jumbled-up mess because her mouth was full of a pink cake she was currently digging into.

"How many times have I told you, don't talk with your mouth full like a fool!" Carracosta scolded. "Now swallow your food and then say to me what you need to say."

Fennix swallowed with an audible gulp. "Sorry," she apologized. "Anyways, we're looking for the place you found me."

"The place I…what?" Carracosta asked.

"While we were looking through some treasures in a cave on the Water Continent, we found a letter written in stone," Light explained. "We think the letter was written by Mew asking whoever got those treasures to take care of the Harmony Scarves. The same ones you found on Fennix when you found her. Since it's a large part of both Fennix and my past, we wanted to go back to where you found Fennix and see if we can find any clues as to who Mew gave the Harmony Scarves."

"Do you recken you'll find anythin there?" Nuzleaf asked. "I mean, not to be a downer, but that happened hundreds of thousands of years ago, right?"

"We don't know how long ago it was exactly, but somebody must have wrapped the scarves around Fennix when she was born, right?" Light asked. "So if we can find that person, maybe we can figure out who Mew gave the scarves in the first place. They might even know a bit about our pasts, too."

"So then, you came here to ask me where I found you?" Carracosta asked.

Fennix nodded. "Yeah, exactly. You never did tell me where you found me. So…would you mind telling me where you found me, Pops?"

"Do you really think you'll find anything there?" Carracosta asked.

"It can't hurt to check," Light said. "Yeah, we're not exactly sure whether we'll find anything there or not, but we're also not finding anything standing around, doing nothing. This is our only clue."

"Plus…ever since I learned that I was Mew in a past life, I always was curious about where I appeared in this world," Fennix said, her ears falling and her head hanging low. "Before all this happened, I always wondered who my real parents were and why they abandoned me. Now, I know I don't actually have any real parents. The closest I have is you, Pops. But…" Fennix looked up at everyone. "Someone must have cared enough for me to wrap me in the Harmony Scarves when I was born. And I want to know who that was. I almost feel like I have to know who that was! So please, Pops. I want to try find out something!"

Carracosta paused for a moment to look down at his daughter, taking in her words and her desperation. Light also looked between the two, understanding Fennix's pain. They both knew of their past, but neither had any memories of that time. So any and every link they could find would be worth something. The part of him that wanted to know more about himself agreed with her and completely understood her feelings. And that, along with his friendship with her, was enough to quell the part of him that was afraid of the prospect of either of them finding out more about their pasts. The pikachu looked at Fennix sympathetically because of that, though she was more focused on her father's face.

"Well, if you wish it that much, then I suppose I have no choice," Carracosta said. "But not tonight. It's getting late and by the time we reached the place I found you, it'll be dark. For tonight, you will sleep here in your room. Tomorrow, I'll take you and Light to where I found you."

Fennix smiled ear from ear and gave a hop in place. "Thanks Pops!" she said.

"Now you three eat up," Carracosta said as he began to walk around the left side of the table. "I need to go out for a moment. I want to make sure my memory isn't failing me on where I found Fennix. I'll be right back. You guys finish your meal."

"Alright, fine," Fennix said before stuffing her face back in her food. Light, on the other hand, watched Carracosta leave before turning back to his food. Though he didn't get long to enjoy his food before Nuzleaf looked at him.

"Ya know…I recken you can sleep here if you want to," Nuzleaf told him. "I…don't want to force ya to do somethin you don't want to or nothin."

"N-no, I'm fine," Light said, forcing whatever smile he could. "I can sleep in your house tonight. Besides, I'm going to update the Expedition Society on our situation and I'd rather not keep Fennix awake while doing so."

 _Besides, I hate how I always feel so…unsure around you,_ Light thought. _You're trying, I know you are but…_

Light shook his head before continuing with his dinner. He had other things he needed to worry about and contemplating about his relationship with Nuzleaf wasn't going to help him. He chose to devote his mind and energy to helping Fennix instead.

 _Fennix is more important right now,_ Light thought. _What happens to me doesn't really matter._


	3. Hasty

Light woke up early the next morning, stretching as he did so. He quickly left his room and out of Nuzleaf's house, not paying much mind to his surroundings as he did so. Once he got outside, he took a deep breath of the early morning Serene Village air, taking in the pink skies the fields of fallen leaves, before looking at Fennix's house. He waited out there for a bit, expecting Fennix to come running out to greet him like she did when they were junior Expedition Society members living there, but she didn't come. Light looked at her house confused for a moment, until he realized something and looked back to the skies to confirm his thoughts.

"Wow, I must really be up earlier than I thought," Light mused. "Guess that's what happens when you work for the Expedition Society. Still, surprised Fennix isn't awake yet, then."

"Come on Pops, we gotta hurry!" Fennix's voice suddenly rang out from her house. Light couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Spoke too soon, I guess," he said.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! Don't wake me up so early in the morning! Do you know what time it is?! Why, the sun has barely peaked the horizon. And you expect us to go out this early in the morning! Your friend probably isn't even up yet! Calm down and wait patiently. Light will come to us when he is awake and ready."

Light paused for a moment. _Oh…so they're waiting for me. Well…_

The pikachu chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with his right paw as he did so. He felt strange walking in when the two were just talking about him like that, and him eavesdropping on the conversation. But Light pressed on through the nervousness and walked up to Carracosta's door and inside.

As he reached the door, he heard Fennix's voice yell, "Light's here!" Light was confused at first until he passed through the door and realized that Fennix was looking for him through her window. Light had to keep himself from laughing as he saw Fennix standing to his left on her hind legs with her forepaws on the window watching him walk in, and Carracosta looking disappointed at the event that happened.

"Uhh…hey you guys," Light said. "How's it…going?"

Carracosta sighed. "Fine, you two can go prepare," he said, his voice defeated. "Just make sure not to disturb anyone who's sleeping."

"Cool!" Fennix said, bouncing down to walk next to Light. "Let's head to the square and get our supplies!"

"Yeah…sure," Light said, but he wasn't even able to finish that two-word sentence before Fennix grabbed a light brown bag and was already bouncing her way out of Carracosta's house and down the hill. "Wow, she sure is energetic today."

"I assume she's not always like this?" Carracosta asked. "She seemed like she grew a lot last time you two visited. She wasn't nearly this hasty. I'm surprised to see her regressing like this."

"Well…you heard what she said yesterday," Light said. "She really wants to learn more about her past life, and especially who gave her the Harmony Scarves. From what I can tell, she considers them to be somewhat of a parent to her."

"Perhaps," Carracosta said.

"I'm…sorry," Light said. "I'm sure Fennix considers you a great parent. I really do."

"It's alright, Light," Carracosta said. "I understand."

Light could hear the sorrow in his voice, but knew nothing he could say to change that. Nor could the pikachu really say anything to make the awkward situation he was in any less uncomfortable. So instead, he nodded towards Carracosta before running out of the house on his four paws to catch up to Fennix. It took him a couple of seconds, but he finally reached the fennekin just at the turn towards the square. Once he got that far, he noticed that Fennix was still bound for the square, not even noticing that Light wasn't following her. So Light quickly ran in front of her so she would finally notice him.

"H-hey…Fennix…wait…for…me," Light panted when he stopped right in front of the fennekin. Luckily Fennix stopped before she ran into him and looked up at him. Light took a few moments to catch his breath before talking to her.

"Fennix, I know this is important to you," Light said. "I really do. But can you please not be so hasty? You don't need to wake Carracosta up just to get moving. Instead of doing that, you could have been getting supplies so we could have left when all three of us were awake."

Fennix looked down, ears drooping. "Sorry," she apologized. "I've really made a mess with my Pops, haven't I?"

"How about you make it up to him by showing how you've grown while exploring?" Light asked. "No running off on your own when we get close. We need to all stick together, especially if the area's turned into a Mystery Dungeon."

"'Turned into…' Wait, what?!" Fennix asked, taken aback by Light's statement. "Do you think that might have actually happened?"

"I don't know," Light said with a shrug. "But think about it. Carracosta hasn't taken you there despite asking. He's also having us get supplies. If we're just going for a random stroll, then why would he want us to be prepared?"

"Oh, wow, I never thought about that," Fennix said. "Sorry, I really should have. I guess I haven't been paying much attention, have I?"

"It's alright, I understand," Light said.

"So what formation are we going to use, then?" Fennix asked. Light took a step back in surprise.

"I-I don't know," Light said. "I guess it depends on what Carracosta can do. Do you know what your pops can do in a fight?"

"Don't know," Fennix asked. "Never asked."

"Alright, I guess I'll have to ask him when we get back," Light said.

Fennix and Light quickly went through the square, grabbing and soring the items they need in Fennix's bag. They weren't able to get any new ones, as Kecleon was asleep at his stand and they both promised not to wake him, but they were fine with what they got. Light made sure they had plenty of Oran Berries, some Wands, and even a Reviver Seed just in case something bad happened. Light also grabbed his Weather Looplet and Fennix's Gold Looplet, snapping his on his left arm while helping Fennix put her Looplet on her neck just below her Harmony Scarf. With supplies out of the way, both the yellow Pokémon walked with the sun to their backs toward Carracosta's house once again.

Once there, Carracosta joined Light and Fennix and lead them all outside of the village and to their destination. Carracosta moved with a surprising amount of purpose and speed when he got out of the village that the two Expedition Society members needed to go at a brisk pace in order to keep up with them. Light was surprised that someone as old as Carracosta could move at such a speed and had to pay attention more to his dark blue shelled back then his surroundings.

"P-pops, could you slow down?" Fennix complained from behind.

"I thought you were the one interested in getting there in a quick manner," Carracosta said from up ahead.

"Still, I'd like to talk a bit before we get to where we're going," Light said. "We need to come up with a plan."

"Hmph, and I expected to be attempting to catch up with you," Carracosta said. "Alright, fine. I can go slower."

So Carracosta slowed down, allowing Light and Fennix to follow behind him in a walking pace instead of their running pace as before. This allowed Fennix to catch her breath, but more importantly it allowed Light to take a look at their surroundings. And when he did, he saw a large imposing mountain in front of them.

"Revelation Mountain?" he asked. "You found Fennix there?"

"No, the place we are going is not Revelation Mountain," Carracosta explained. "Rather, it's on the other side. We will be heading around the mountain."

"So, is the area we are going towards a Mystery Dungeon?" Light asked as the trio walked their way around Revelation Mountain to their destination.

"That would be correct," Carracosta said.

"Wow, you were right, Light," Fennix said.

"It wasn't always like that," Carracosta explained. "The place we are going to is called the Trees of Abundance. It's a forest in the back of the mountain that's said to draw its water from a spring on there. I don't know if I believe that tale, but what I do know is the place used to be filled with berries of all kinds. Even berries that don't grow in the region could be found there."

"It might be the Luminous Waters," Fennix said. "The Luminous Waters was supposed to turn Pokémon back from being stone. That's why Mew and Light's past-self put the waters there in the first place. So it must be some pretty amazing waters to be able to do that. Amazing enough to maybe make a forest so pure that berries that don't always grow around here can grow?"

"I suppose that sounds like a possibility," Carracosta said.

"Is that forest where you get the berries for your food?" Light asked. He tried to look on ahead, but all he saw were plains and the curving of the ground up towards the mountain. They weren't there yet.

"It was once," Carracosta said. "In the time before I found Fennix, I would go to this forest every other day to grab it's pick of berries. Back then it was just a simple forest and not a Mystery Dungeon."

"Kinda hard to imagine," Fennix said with a chuckle. "Pretty much every forest we've ever been to is a Mystery Dungeon."

"It wasn't long after I found you in there that it became one," Carracosta said. "After I found you there, I was forced to go to the Trees of Abundance less and less. I had a child to take care of, so I took the berries I knew I could plant and made my own berry garden. And although a certain hyperactive child trampled through it sometimes…" Fennix blushed "it allowed me to continue my craft without going to the Trees of Abundance. But I still tried to go back there every occasionally. At least I tried too."

"But then it became a Mystery Dungeon?" Light asked.

"I found that out two years after I found Fennix," Carracosta said. "And, after checking last night, it's still a Mystery Dungeon. We can expect a fight when we get there."

"How long until we get there?" Fennix complained. "We've been walking for hours."

"It's only been one, maybe two," Light said, his eyes looking to the right at the angle of the sun. While the skies were blue now instead of cream, the sun had barely reached 45 degrees above the horizon. "We've had longer walks. Remember that time that we nearly walked across the entire Grass Continent?"

"Ugg…don't remind me," Fennix said.

"Regardless, we are getting close," Carracosta said. "We should be seeing the forest come up around the mountain any moment now. Keep your eyes peeled and you will find it."

So Light and Fennix separated to look past Carracosta and they saw it, just on the horizon. A forest filled with pure white trees from the flowers in bloom. They were massive and towered over everything, even from the distance the Expedition Society members were. Light and Fennix were both impressed by the sheer size.

Carracosta noticed that too, and decided to comment on it. "Yes, it does look good from a distance, doesn't it? In both spring and fall the trees are filled with vibrant colors. During the summer and early fall, it's filled with berries of all sorts. And during the winter, it becomes a winter paradise as the snow only lightly covers the path and the trees, allowing plenty of green and a comfortable walk. It's a shame this spot is mostly unnoticed by the Pokémon of the village, though recently it's understandable why."

"Becoming a Mystery Dungeon doesn't exactly make it a great spot to be in," Light concluded.

"I don't know, I'd say it's more exciting that way!" Fennix announced. "Taking out baddies while trying to find secrets…sounds amazing."

"You would see it that way," Light snarked.

"Hey, just because you like to live a boring life doesn't mean I have to," Fennix said. "Life's no fun without a little excitement every once in a while."

"Yes, because we only experience excitement 'every once in a while'" Light said. "Like that time we ran into two Monster Houses in a row. Or that time we were challenged by that one team. Or you know…saving the world? Nope, no excitement for our life."

"I hesitate to ask what she considers infrequent excitement," Carracosta said. "I'm sure if I heard the full trouble you two get into during your work I'd be sent to my grave. I might be old, but I've still got a few years left."

"We don't get into that much…" Fennix started, but Light shook his head.

"That's a lie and you know it," Light interrupted.

Carracosta shook his head. "You two. After saving the world once I'd personally like to settle down for the rest of my life. But you two still managed to get in so much trouble and even drag me with."

"Look at her, not me," Light said with a chuckle. "I'm pretty sure I'd be living a nice, quiet life if it weren't for her dragging me around everywhere."

"Regardless, we're here," Carracosta said.

Light and Fennix both looked up and saw that they were indeed in the opening to the dungeon, a split in the trees where a path that lead into the forest started. Between that, the trees on every side grew tall, to the point where they all pointed skyward. The leaves and flowers on the tree were so bushy that they looked like clouds up above. Light looked at those and could imagine them dropping fruits and berries by the bucketful.

"Is enough light able to go through these trees so we can see?" Light asked.

"Yes, there will be plenty of light," Carracosta said. "I've never had trouble seeing in there before."

"What types of enemies are we looking at?" Light asked.

"Mostly Grass and Water-types," Carracosta said.

Light groaned. "Fun," he said. "We're all weak to at least one of those types. Neither Carracosta and I can do much to Grass-types and Water-types will hurt Fennix pretty badly if we're not careful."

"Hey, at least we're all strong against them too," Fennix said. "You've got the Water-types while I'll roast the Grass-types."

"You will phrase that in a less violent way," Carracosta commanded.

"Anyways, that just leaves you," Light said, getting the subject back on track. "If you don't mind, would you stay behind Fennix while we're walking through the dungeon? You're going to be very vulnerable against most of the Pokémon there."

"I will not stand in the back while two children take the lead!" Carracosta said. "I shall take the lead!"

And without even giving Light or Fennix a chance to argue, Carracosta stormed in. Light and Fennix both looked at each other in shock before running off to follow him in. They managed to catch up to him before the dungeon separated them, but when they did Carracosta continued on as if the two children hadn't caught up to him. So they had to keep a brisk walk to keep up with the older turtle.

"P-pops!" Fennix called out. "Slow down!"

"Seriously Carracosta," Light said as well. "You can't be running like this. We're in a Mystery Dungeon. You could be attacked by Wilds at any moment."

"Yeah, Pops," Fennix continued. "Running ahead in a Mystery Dungeon used to get me in trouble all the time back in school! You shouldn't be doing that too!"

Those words reached Carracosta and he finally slowed down. "…I apologize," the older Pokémon eventually said. "I lost sight of myself for a moment."

"Just in time too," Light said as he looked past Carracosta. "We've got enemies approaching!"

As Light said, two lotad were waddling up with a lombre in between them, closing in on the three explorers. Light and Fennix both went to Carracosta's sides, sparks flying from Light's cheeks as they prepared to attack when the Pokémon got close enough. Unfortunately, the three grass/water-types were able to attack first, all three of them spitting out a triple Water Gun attack straight towards Fennix, the fire-type. Light was about to rush over in between Fennix and the streams of water to take the attack himself, but Carracosta surprisingly beat the normally fast pikachu and stood in front of Fennix. The attacks hit him, but Carracosta was easily able to deflect it and they didn't do much damage to him.

"Are you alright, Fennix?" Carracosta asked.

"Y-yeah, just fine," Fennix said.

"Alright you two, let's go on the offensive before they attack us again," Light said, quickly looking back at his enemies. "Fennix, give me an opening with Psybeam. Carracosta, if you have any moves that can distract them, you should use those too."

"Roger," Fennix said.

She rolled to Carracosta's right and her eyes glowed for a moment. Once she was clear of Carracosta she fired out several multi-colored spheres from her mouth which all homed in on the lotad and lombre. After her Psybeam attack went far enough, Carracosta himself went into his shell and rolled in a ball, ramming into the lombre with a powerful Rollout. The combination of the two attacks startled the lotad and lombre long enough for Light to easily get close. He first targeted the lombre, hitting it with a powerful Thunderpunch to its green chest from his left fist. This knocked out the first of the three Pokémon relatively easily.

"Fennix, Carracosta, take the other two out," Light commanded.

"On it," Fennix said.

The fennekin fired off her Flamethrower attack at the lotad to Light's right while Carracosta barreled into the lotad on Light's left with his continued Rollout. The two attacks knocked the two Pokémon out. Light and Fennix had to wait a second for Carracosta to finish rolling around, but once he did, he walked back up to the two children.

"Well, I suppose those enemies won't bother us anymore," he said once he got close.

"Those ones, sure, but there will still probably be several enemies we have to fight," Light said, as he took a quick look around. "We need to be careful."

"That means no running off, Pops!" Fennix said.

"I believe the parent here is me, and the child you," Carracosta said.

"Still, is there something wrong?" Light asked. "You've been really hasty since we started this quest. Constantly rushing ahead of us. That's not something I've come to expect from you. Is there something about this place that you're not telling us?"

Carracosta closed his eyes and sighed. "I apologize. You are right in a way. I have been too hasty. I…just want to ensure that neither of you children are harmed while going through this dungeon, so the quicker I escort you, the better."

"With all due respect, sir, we're fine," Light said. "We've been members of the Expedition Society for a while now. We've went through several dangerous dungeons already and will probably go through more. We've fought against Legendary Pokémon and came out alive. We saved the world."

"And after you saved the world, I lost my daughter," Carracosta said.

Light had no response. There was no response he could give to the Rock/Water-Type. Instead, he could feel tears begin forming in his eyes that fell down to his cheeks as memories flooded back to him.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have gone so far," Carracosta admitted. "I apologize. Let's just…keep moving."

Carracosta stomped off slowly, leaving Light standing there, struck dumb by the older adult's words. Fennix ran from her position to Light's side, looking at him in his eyes to try and get him out of his funk. Light eventually realized she was there and, after shaking his head, snapped out of it to look at her.

"Well…I asked," Light said, his voice hollow and broken. "And I did get an answer. That's probably my fault."

"Light…it's not your fault," Fennix said. "What happened to me wasn't your fault."

Light shook his head. "Let's just…go follow Carracosta. We're hopefully close."


	4. Memories

Carracosta didn't get very far after stomping off, allowing Light and Fennix to easily catch up to him. After those last words, the crew was silent to each other. Even during fights, the crew attacked on their own without any command from Light, bickering from Carracosta, or complaining from Fennix. The trio continued on silently through the forest, things continuing to be awkward between them.

Once they went a fair distance through the forest, Light tried to break the silence. "So how close are we to where you found Fennix?" he asked.

"We're getting close," Carracosta said quickly.

"You recognize anything, Fennix?" Light asked after that.

"I was a kit when Pops found me," Fennix said. "How the heck would I recognize anything?"

"Well, you're sort of half-Mew, so maybe you have some sort of psychic connection with the place you were born," Light guessed.

"That's not how that works," Fennix said. "Besides, I'm not even a Psychic-type and there's not much of Mew left in me. I'm still just a fennekin."

"Hey, thought I'd ask," Light said.

"No…this place doesn't look familiar," Fennix said. She took a look around the area, seeing the trees with their multiple colored berries growing on them below green leaves, the fresh grass across the ground. "But looking at it…it sorta gives me the same feel as the Tree of Life, you know? It looks like Primeval Forest now that Dark Matter isn't destroying anything."

"Hmm…" Light looked around too. "Yeah, you're right. Must be thanks to the Luminous Waters that used to pour down here. With the power to cure the Pokémon turned to stone, it must be somewhat similar to the Tree of Life. I wonder if a new Tree of Life could have been made here if something were happened to the old one? As a possible plan if Dark Matter won but we could somehow keep the Planet from crashing into the sun."

"I don't think that's how that works either," Fennix said. "But then again, I don't really know. I'm not Xerneas, so I wouldn't know if he is able to live in new locations or not."

"Regardless, we should get there soon," Carracosta said.

"How can you even tell?" Fennix asked. "All these trees look the same. I couldn't even tell you where in this forest anything is. And this place has become a Mystery Dungeon too. And hasn't it been years since you found me? So how can you tell?"

"A father just knows these things," Carracosta said. "It was an unforgettable moment for me and I can remember everything about it. Including exactly where I found you."

Light was slightly skeptical about that. While Fennix was not the most observant Pokémon in the world, he had to agree on everything around him being the same. Granted, Mystery Dungeons don't have the most unique views from area to area, he had to imagine that it all looked the same even before the Mystery Dungeon came in. So to be able to know where he found Fennix was difficult for Light to believe.

"Did you mark the area?" Light asked.

Carracosta momentarily stopped walking. "Light, you are not a parent. Even if I found her instead of watching her hatch from her egg, I still remember the exact moment I found her. Do not doubt me, boy! That is not a moment I will ever forget in my entire life. Therefore, I will know when we get there. Now, are you going to continue doubting me?"

"Well…no but…" Light sighed, and ended this conversation before it went too far. "Alright, I'll hope you're right. Running around in circles doesn't sound fun."

"I'm sure we will find it eventually," Carracosta said. "In fact, I get the feeling that we're really close. This area is starting to look familiar."

"And we haven't seen many enemies lately," Light mentioned. "We might be in the clear when it comes to the dungeon."

Light stretched his arms out high and relaxed his guard. "Whew, I'm beat," he said.

"We can relax when we get back home," Fennix said. "If Pops says we're close, then we must be really close."

Fennix skipped to the front of the group, looking around for any indication of where she brought into the world, lying wrapped in two scarves. Carracosta followed behind, also looking around for where he found his daughter. Light stuck behind, being unable to contribute much to anything in the search, as he had no connection to this place. Instead, he looked around just to make sure that no enemies get the jump on them.

"Hmm…we are definitely getting close," Carracosta said. "This area is looking very familiar."

Light took a look around once again, seeing what he could see in the area. It still looked the same, green grass, brown trunks, multicolored berries on green leaves, but Light wanted to make sure that nobody was missing something. However, as he expected would happen, it was Carracosta who found something first.

"Yes, here we are," he heard Carracpsta's voice say somewhere to his left. "But…what is this?"

Light looked over and just barely saw Carracosta's dark-blue shell beyond a few trees. He could see Fennix close by, showing that Carracosta went looking around without them. Light nodded to Fennix and they both went towards the Waster/Rock-type's direction.

"Hey, Pops! Did you find something?" Fennix asked.

"I did indeed," Carracosta said. "I believe I found the location I found Fennix. But I found something…interesting there."

"Interesting?" Light and Fennix both asked at the same time.

Both of the quickened their pace to see what Carracosta was looking at. They eventually reached him and walked to both his sides in order to look at it. Placed against a tree was a faded gray slate with what looked to be footprint-shaped runes all over it. Light recognized the slate as a similar one that was found in the Gilded Chamber. A similar slate to the one talking about the Harmony Scarves.

"Fennix, is that…?" Light asked.

"The Ancient Language?" Fennix finished for him. "Yeah, it is."

Carracosta rubbed a fin under his chin. "This is the place," he said. "Underneath this very tree, all those years ago. I still remember it to this day. I was carrying three baskets filled with berries, two in my fins and one on my back. It was a successful day of gathering berries and I was heading back to Serene Village when I noticed an unusual color on the floor. I thought it was another berry and, as I was full, I initially planned on leaving it. That is, at least, until I heard an unusual noise coming from there. A small yawn."

"A yawn?" Fennix asked. "You mean from me?"

"No Fennix, from the other fennekin he found in this forest wrapped in a scarf," Light said. "By the way, when are you going to introduce me to your sister?"

"I'm just trying to make sure!" Fennix said. "Excuse me for asking!"

"Kidding, kidding," Light said. He looked back at Carrracosta. "Mr. Carracosta, can you continue?"

"Alright. Anyways, hearing that yawn made me inspect the strange bit of color more closely. I scattered the grass that she was hidden under and noticed a young fennekin girl wrapped in the grass. It surprised me at first, seeing a kit just lying there with nobody around. But I knew I couldn't just leave her there. So I dropped the berries of one of my bag and placed the girl inside of there. That's how I first found Fennix."

"So then, that's how it happened," Light said.

"I tried to find her folks, but there was nobody knew anyone in the fennekin line who ever passed through here, nor did anyone ever come, so I ended up adopting her myself," Carracosta said. "But now, we have something else here."

"…Do you have it translated yet, Fennix?" Light asked.

"Yeah, I do," she said. "'To you who now holds the scarves I gave you, you who holds the spirit of Mew. Welcome to the place where you once appeared into this world. I wish to meet with you, but I must ensure that you are who you say you are. If you search for me, the last link to your ancient past, then search your memories and return to where you met your first allies.'"

"Your first allies?" Light asked. "What in the world could that mean?"

"I would recommend we think on it back in Serene Village," Carracosta said. "Light, can you carry the slate?"

Light walked up to the slate and wrapped his paws around it. The slate was a little heavy, but he was still able to lift it up and hold it. Light quickly placed the slate in his bag, where it wouldn't bother him as much.

"Alright, let's return to Serene Village," Light said. "Once there, we can think through what the tablet even means. We might as well also update the Expedition Society and see what they know, too."

"Yeah, you're right," Carracosta said. "We should get out of here soon."

"Alright, let's go!" Fennix said.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time the team managed to get their way to Carracosta's house, with the sun drawing large shadows across the ground. Once the three of them entered the building, Light place down the slate in the corner of the room before grabbing out his Expedition Gadget from underneath his scarf. Fennix also grabbed hers as she walked forward to meet him. Carracosta hanged back at the kitchen, beginning dinner whole the two Expedition Society members did their work.

"Hey, Dedenne, can you hear us?" Light asked into his gadget. "Light, reporting in."

"Yeah, I hear you just fine," Light eventually heard Dedenne's voice come from the gadget.

"Alright," Light said. "Is the Chief and Mawile there as well? We found something that we want to discuss with them."

"I believe Mawile should be still investigating the treasures of the Guided Chamber," Dedenne said. "Bunnelby's down there too. Give me a few seconds to see if I can connect with her."

Light and Fennix waited a couple minutes until they heard some static. Suddenly, a different voice came out from the Expedition Gadget.

"Mawile here," Mawile said. "You said you found something interesting for me to see?"

"Yeah," Light said. "We looked in the location where Fennix was found and we found something strange there. A stone tablet like the one in the Gilded Chamber with Ancient Language writing on it."

"Really?" Mawile asked. "Why would something like that be there?"

"We're not sure, but we think that somebody put it there, knowing we were coming," Light said. "Or maybe they figured we would come there eventually and didn't specifically know we were coming. Either way, they did leave the tablet there."

"Well, what does it say?" Mawile asked. Fennix repeated what she read from the tablet to her. "Hmm…interesting," Mawile said after listening. "Have you made any strides on what the possible meaning could be?"

"We're not entirely sure," Light admitted. "I mean, what they tell us to do is easy to figure out. 'Search your memories and return to where you met your first allies.' I'm guessing in those locations will find us more clues as to who gave Fennix those scarves. There's just…one slight problem."

"We have no clue what exactly they mean by my first allies!" Fennix said.

"Would it be the first Pokémon you made connections with in your Connection Orb?" Mawile asked.

"That's…possible, I guess," Light said. "But…well…"

"The tablet called me 'the one who holds the spirit of Mew,'" Fennix said. "It never called me Fennix, a fennekin, or anything like that. It just referred to me by my past life."

"Which means we're like dealing with Fennix's past life as Mew," Light concluded.

"I can imagine the difficulty of figuring out what that means, then," Mawile said.

"Yeah," Fennix said. "'Search my memories?' I have no memories!" Light nearly jumped when Fennix said that, especially with how intense she was. "I don't remember anything about my time as Mew! I had those memories for only like five minutes, and when I returned back to this world, I returned without those memories. I don't know anything about my past. If Mew had any allies other than Light…I wouldn't know them. They fought for me, helped me out, and I don't even know who they are. Nothing…"

Fennix's sudden bout of indignation turned to sorrow, and when Light looked back at her he saw that her ears drooped down and her face was to the ground. Light felt sorry for her, seeing her like that, also knowing the pain of having no idea of who you are or where you come from. However, while it caused her a great pain, Light had to admit something to himself, a secret he would never be willing to share with the fennekin.

 _Fennix, I really wished I felt the same. I wish I wasn't so afraid of what we could learn. But…_ Light flinched. _I can see how much this is hurting you so…_

"Mawile, did the Chief keep any records about what Celebi told him about the Ancient Past?" Light asked, taking the initiative.

"I'll have to ask him later," Mawile said. "If not, I'd like to remind you that Xerneas is still an option. And Fennix…remember, you haven't forgotten about all your old friends. There's one that was with you back then and is still with you now."

Light had the distinct feeling that Mawile was talking about him. "But wait…what?" Light asked. "Me?"

"Light?!" Fennix asked at the same time.

"Of course," Mawile said. "The Human and Mystical Pokémon who first defeated Dark Matter when all looked like it was lost. We know that for sure. And, even if everyone else is gone, at least we know one of your allies that is still by your side to this day."

Light could feel his cheeks heating up. "I…yeah but…well…" Light paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I mean, yeah but, I don't have any of my memories either," Light said. "I don't remember anything? So how are we supposed to figure out where Mew first met me? Heck, that's assuming Mew didn't first meet me back in the human world, which he probably did."

"I'd recommend going back to where you first appeared in this world, as a pikachu," Mawile offered. "It might be a longshot, but perhaps Mew brought you there specifically because that's where you were first brought into this world, those thousands of years ago. I've found, in all my archeological studies, that history tends to repeat itself, especially when it comes to the movements of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. So searching there might yield some sort of fruit."

"Yeah, that makes sense!" Fennix said. "I know if I had a choice, I'd bring Light back through the same place I first met him!"

"Search there for now," Mawile said. "While you're doing that, I'll do my own research from here, see if I can use the Societies resources to find out who else aided Mew all those thousands of years ago."

"Thanks Mawile!" Fennix said, her usual cheerfulness back in her voice. "We'll go there right away!"

"Not right away," Carracosta's voice suddenly rang from behind both Light and Fennix. The two kids both looked away from their devices at Carracosta. "For now, it's getting late, and it'd be better for you to rest," the elder said. "Eat up, sleep, and you can begin your journey tomorrow."

"Oh, alright," Fennix said. She looked back into her device. "We have to go now, Mawile. See you when we find out more!"

"Alright you two," Mawile said. "Good luck."

Some static sounded from the devices before Dedenne's voice once again came out of it. "You guys owe me for this long talk," she said, sounding tired.

"Oh, sorry Dedenne," Fennix said. "I forgot you still need to keep the signal up, even when we're not talking to you."

"It's ok," she said. "Good night."

With that, another bought of static sounded before the Expedition Gadget turned off. Light and Fennix both tucked them back in their scarves before they turned back to what Carracosta was doing. When they did they saw that the old Pokémon had already made and finished a large dinner for the three of them to eat.

"Oh boy!" Fennix said. "Thanks Pops!"

Fennix already began stuffing her face in the food, eating as messily as Fennix usually ate, food flying all around her as she ate. Light rolled his eyes before he ate as well, much less messily and hastily than Fennix did. Carracosta watched as they ate, waiting for a few minutes, before he brought up a subject at the table.

"So, Light, do you know where you first came into this world?" Carracosta asked.

Light thought about it for a few seconds. "I…sort of remember. But it was when I first came into this world. I didn't know much of the place and I had a massive headache from fighting against…well, you know. I…remember there was a clear river where I saw I became a Pokémon and there was a waterfall pouring into that lake as well. But that's pretty much it. I don't remember much else about it."

"Hmm…Nuzleaf would probably be the one to ask," Carracosta said. "He would know the area and should be able to lead you to it."

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be able to help us!" Fennix said between mouthfuls of food. "Let's ask him tomorrow!"

Light nearly choked on his own food on that idea. _Oh…great,_ he thought. _We're going exploring tomorrow…with Nuzleaf. Tomorrow's going to be really awkward._


	5. A Serene Night

Night had fallen over the peaceful Serene Village, but Light could not sleep no matter how hard he tried. Both him and Fennix technically no longer had a curfew now that they were employees of the Expedition Society, but they still tried to get to sleep early enough so that they were well energized the next day. However, despite the sun already below the horizon and the sky filled with black and blues, and no matter how much Light tossed and turned in his hay bed at Nuzleaf's house, he could not fall asleep. A sharp feeling of dread prevented it.

 _Nuzleaf is back to normal, he won't betray me again, I'm not afraid of Nuzleaf,_ Light thought to himself on repeat, thinking those words over and over again. Those weren't the only words he repeated to himself, though. _Fennix won't leave again, Fennix won't leave again. Fennix won't leave ever again._

Those thoughts and fears kept him from being able to close his eyes for too long and let the embrace of sleep take him. Eventually, he became so frustrated with his inability to fall asleep, that he gave up. Light got up out of his bed and walked from his bedroom into the main room.

He noticed that Nuzleaf was sound asleep in his bed past the table in the main room. Light was initially jealous that Nuzleaf could get a good night's sleep, but he shook his head and banished those thoughts from his mind when he realized how petty it was. So, before he could think anything else bad about his former parental figure, Light opened up the front door and left his house.

 _I'm…sorry Nuzleaf,_ Light apologized in his mind. _I really am. But no matter how much I hate this feeling…I can't stop._

After closing the door behind him, Light looked around the night covered town. It was as empty as could be, most if not all Pokémon already in their homes asleep at this time. There was also very little light as, unlike Lively Town, there were no streetlamps anywhere to light the path. Instead, one had to guide themselves by only the light of the full moon and the stars. However, Light had to admit that Serene Village truly lived up to its name at this time of night. He could see most of the town from his position on top of a hill and he could see both how beautiful and tranquil it was.

"I wish I could see sights like this more often," Light said to himself. "Lively Town doesn't really have anything like this. But that's where the Expedition Society are and that's where Fennix wants to be. Plus, being in the Expedition Society and mapping the world with a friend is worth it anyways."

Light sighed. _Why can't we just be doing that? Seeing new sights, finding new places, learning more about this world. But instead, tomorrow I'll be near Nuzleaf and we're going to be learning more about Fennix's past._

Light shook his head, the pikachu knowing that just sitting there with those thoughts wouldn't get him anywhere. So he decided to go on a walk through the town to help him clear his head. And he knew exactly where to take that walk to. The hill with the big tree on the outskirts of town.

So Light walked through the peaceful town, his head looking up towards the hill, seeing the tree very soon as he walked downhill into town. Just seeing that, and the euphoric thoughts that the hill gave him, caused him to get on all four of his paws and run a bit faster. He reached the bottom of the hill Nuzleaf's and Carracosta's houses were on, over the bridge, and out of the village. He was about to ascend the hill where the tree was waiting for him when he heard someone singing.

" _I was never good at making any friends_

 _There was nobody willing to be by my side_

' _I'm always oh so rash_

 _I get over my head'_

 _That is what they said about me_

 _But now you are here and you are by my side_

 _I finally have someone I can rely on_

 _Someone who understands me_

 _A fellow outcast no one believes_

 _Finally I've found you, and with you, there's no place we can't go-o-o-o_

 _I know I've still got a lot to learn about this world_

 _But with you I can do this_

 _I know I need to mature a little bit_

 _But you give me strength to do that_

 _We'll become legends someday. Famous all over the world._

 _We'll have a great life, and we'll see all that can be seen._

 _I can see it soon. My dreams coming true._

 _And I know we can reach it._

 _Thank you for being my friend when no one would. And I hope we can be together forever. Forever."_

Light stopped for a moment to hear the melodious tones coming from above him. He knew exactly who the singer was, as he heard her singing this song to herself several times before, but he was surprised to hear it there that late at night. He thought himself the only one awake that night. He couldn't stop himself from listening to it, though, and waited for the song to end before he continued his advance up the tree.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" Light asked the occupant on the top of the hill.

Fennix, who was previously sitting down, her snout in the air and eyes closed peacefully, immediately opened her eyes, got on her four paws, and turned around to face Light, her cheeks turning red. "L-Light!" Fennix yelled. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Light chuckled. "Sorry about that," he said. The pikachu walked up to Fennix's left side before sitting down next to her, eyes looking over the hill at all the stars in the sky. Fennix too, after getting over the initial shock of seeing Light, sat down once again to look at the sky.

"You know, it's really beautiful out here," Light said. "You can see so many stars, a lot more than you can see from Lively Town. And they're a lot brighter from here. Plus, this hill is perfect for watching the stars."

"Yeah, I know," Fennix said. "It's been a really long time since I've got a good look at the sky from here. It sorta makes me miss this view, you know? Back…before I met you, when life got me down or I messed up again, I'd love to come here and look at the view. Even if it's night and past when I should be asleep, I'd take one of Pops lectures any day if I could just look at the stars from here."

"It's…also a great place for watching meteor showers," Light said.

Fennix's face lit up. "Oh yeah, I know. During the early summer the town will always come out here at night to watch stars fall. It's a really amazing sight. If a comet is about to come here, everyone will also come here just to watch it fly by, with its colors and its large tail passing through the sky, lighting it up for everyone to see. It's so beautiful!"

"I…know," Light said.

Fennix looked over at him. "How would you know? We've never seen any…"

She quickly stopped. At first Light wondered why, but he quickly got his answer when he realized his once smiling face was now frowning and water was leaking from his eyes and traveling down the sides of his face. Light quickly used his right arm to wipe up his tears, but the damage was already done. Fennix already saw him begin to cry.

"…You know, I didn't think of it too much before," Fennix said. "I always just assumed that everything was the same between when I left and when I came back. But…that's not true at all, is it? Both you and Pops…and a bunch of other Pokémon too. You're all still in pain from it, aren't you?"

"I…I…" Light couldn't deny it.

"Sorry," Fennix said. "I've been really selfish, haven't I? Pops and you, you both are really worried about something happening to me, and here I am doing whatever I want without really caring about that. I'll go into dangerous dungeons, fight really strong opponents, and you have to hope and pray that we both make it out ok. I didn't realize how that made you both feel until what Pops said this morning. Light, are you as bad as Pops? Are you afraid every time we enter a dungeon that something bad will happen to me?"

"I'm not that bad," Light said. "I mean, I know you can take care of yourself, and I've gotten pretty strong myself. You have my back and I have yours. So it's not the dungeons themselves I'm worried about, so long as we stick together. If we face a Legendary Pokémon, then I might be more worried, but that's it."

 _But in other ways…I'm worse,_ Light admitted to himself.

"And I didn't think about what exploring tomorrow with Nuzleaf meant for you," Fennix continued. "I was so focused on the fact that I could learn more about my past as Mew that I didn't even think of your feelings."

"It's alright," Light said. "I'm just…" Light sighed. "I hate it. Always feeling afraid of Nuzleaf. Unsure of whether I can trust him or not. A part of me knows that he was possessed by Dark Matter when he betrayed us on Revelation Mountain. A part of me knows that he tried to make it up by helping me bring you back in whatever way he could. That same part of me knows that he hasn't done anything untrustworthy since then. So I know that I shouldn't be afraid. I know that I should trust him more. But…"

Light flinched. "A voice in my head keeps reminding me that, even if he was possessed by Dark Matter, a part of him still wanted to do that. There had to be some sort of darkness latched on to his heart in order for Dark Matter to get him. That voice also reminds me that the time I spent with Nuzleaf, the time after he adopted me before we joined the Expedition Society, that was all a lie. Any care he gave me was just to manipulate me. The concern he had for my memory was that it would come back and expose him instead of that it wouldn't. I have never met the real Nuzleaf, never known him, and I'm afraid of what I'll learn about that. I'm…I'm just afraid."

Light sighed and looked away from Fennix and towards the ground so she couldn't see his expression. _I'm such a coward. That's not even getting into the other reason I'm afraid of continuing this Expedition. It's such a stupid reason…but I can't stop thinking it._

"You say that, but I think you're honestly kinda brave," Fennix said. Light immediately snapped his head to look back at her. "You know, it's funny. You're so afraid of Nuzleaf, but you're still willing to let him help us. You didn't say that we should find another way or stopped Pops and me from asking him to help us. Despite the fact that you don't like this idea, you're still willing to go through with it."

"That's because I only have a stupid reason for not wanting to," Light said.

"And?" Fennix asked, expecting more.

"…When you were talking about how much you wanted to figure out who our old allies before, I knew how much this meant to you," Light said. "And in a way, I understand. They were my old allies to and I feel kinda bad forgetting about them. Maybe not as bad as you do, but I do feel bad. So why should I stop you from finding it out? For a few stupid, paranoid reasons that probably won't happen anyways? If this really means that much to you, then I'll help you out in spite of what I feel about it."

Fennix smiled. "Thanks Light. See, I told you you were really brave! I don't think many Pokémon would be willing to do what you're doing!"

"…Just, can you promise me something?" Light asked. "After all this is over, after you've finally found out who you were in the ancient past, can we go back to how things were? The two of us working for the Expedition Society, helping Pokémon out, making a map of the world? Together? Especially together. Don't…go disappearing again, ok?"

"I won't, Light," Fennix said. "Not like that's going to happen anyways. Only happened the first time because—"

"Y-yeah, I know," Light said. "I was there too when Xerneas told us that. Y-you don't have to remind me of that." _But…would the memories that you could gain from learning about your past as Mew be enough to force you to disappear again? I wouldn't think so but…_

"Hey, just thought I'd remind you," Fennix said.

Light tried pushing all of his fears and doubts to the back of his mind and smiled. "Hey, I wouldn't have needed the reminder if a certain fennekin explained it all better to me before you disappeared instead of having Xerneas explain. Heck, that might have brought you back faster."

"Hey, I didn't exactly have a lot of time left!" Fennix said. "Plus I was trying to figure it out myself. You try suddenly gaining thousands of years' worth of memories you never had before and sorting it all out! I'm amazed I was able to say that much!"

"Well, in that case, I guess it's a good thing you lost them," Light teased. "Otherwise who knows what random thoughts would be swimming around your head?"

"Yep, I guess I get to join you in the club of Pokémon who can't remember anything about who they were," Fennix said. "It's kinda a boring club, by the way. Only two members."

"And a long-winded title," Light agreed. "We should really try changing that sometime."

"How about we start with that tomorrow?" Fennix asked. "After we find out about our old allies, we can be the club of Pokémon who can't remember anything about who they were, but now at least know a few things."

Light chuckled. "I think that's even worse," he said. "By the time we're done revising this, it's going to be so long that nobody ever remembers it, isn't it?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Fennix said while laughing back. "You were never any good with titles."

"Hey, I'm the one who came up with Team Rebirth," Light said. "And that turned out to be all too fitting considering who we were."

"One out of one-hundred isn't exactly that good," Fennix said. "I think in school that's failing."

"Oh, you actually paid attention to math class?" Light asked. "I thought the only times you ever paid attention in school was when they talked about the Expedition Society."

"Says the one who never pays attention," Fennix quipped.

"Yet my grades are still higher than yours," Light said.

The two continued quipping at each other for a while as they had good laugh about it. Light had to admit, while they should have really gone to sleep hours ago, he didn't mind just chatting with her through the night. It helped him forget about everything he was afraid of and, when they both finally agreed that they should go home, Light knew he could slip into his house and have a good night's sleep without having to worry about tomorrow.

"Besides," he said to himself as he walked behind Fennix, listening to her whistle a tune as she walked. "If you do end up disappearing again…then I'll just have to bring you back. I don't care what I have to do to get it done; I'll face Arceus in a battle if I have to, but I will bring you back. That, I promise."


	6. Nuzleaf's Past

"Alright now, are we all ready?" Nuzleaf asked the next morning. The trio all met on the hill with the big tree when Light and Fennix got all the supplies they need ready.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Light said. The nerves he had last night were back in full force and possibly even worse, but this time, the thought of progress helped keep those thoughts away from his mind. That, and looking at Fennix and how excited she was also helped distract him from those thoughts.

"So, where are we going?" Fennix asked.

"We'll, y'all wanted me to take you back where I first met Light," Nuzleaf said. "I'd…have figured Light would be able to take you there anyways but…"

"I had a headache, lost all my memories, and didn't know much about the area anyways," Light said. "Also we were running away from your minions. So I can't remember much about where I came from."

An awkward pause happened after Light said those words. The pikachu initially felt bad for saying those words, but he couldn't take them back. They were the truth, however either of them wanted to put it.

"Well…I at least remember where it is," Nuzleaf said. "It's not something I'm gonna forget anytime soon."

"I…remember it's to the south at least," Light admitted. "I know because we passed by the hill with the big tree on our way to Serene Village. But that's pretty much it."

"That'd be correct," Nuzleaf said. "South of the Open Pass there's a spring on a hill. It's a mighty peaceful place if ya ask me. That's around where Light first appeared in this world, at least the second time. Don't know nothin' about the first, but Dark Matter was sure you'd be there, so that's where it sent me and the Beheeyem. Whether that's because that's where Light first came or not, I can't tell ya, but I'd bet my savings on it."

"Alright, thanks Nuzleaf," Fennix said. "Let's hurry on and find the spot!"

"Alright kids, follow me," Nuzleaf said.

So the trio left the village to the south, through the many trees that blocked out the sunlight from the path. Nuzleaf walked ahead with Light and Fennix walked side by side behind him. The walk to the first dungeon was mostly quiet with few interactions, save for a few awkward looks between Nuzleaf and Light. Nothing happened, but Light still couldn't stop his nervousness. There was no danger ahead, Light and Nuzleaf were able to travel through both the Open Pass and Lush Jungle to get to Serene Village, and that was back when the pikachu was still getting used to being a Pokémon. And he was sure that him and Fennix could take Nuzleaf, but he still was afraid.

 _Great,_ Light thought as they got closer and closer to Lush Jungle. _Awkward silence for hours on end. That's what I want. Totally._

"Hey Mr. Nuzleaf?" Fennix asked, breaking both the silence and Light out of his thoughts. "Do you mind if I ask you a question."

"I reckon I can't stop you," Nuzleaf said. "What do ya want?"

"So I've been wondering something for the longest of time," Fennix said. "Dark Matter can only possess Pokémon by manipulating the darkness in their hearts. And not just the darkness that lives in every Pokémon, but something big. So I was wondering, what did Dark Matter use to possess you?"

"What in the what?!" Nuzleaf asked. "What're you askin' child?"

"You heard me!" Fennix said, standing her ground. "I want to know why Dark Matter managed to get you!"

Nuzleaf's face fell. "Do ya…really need to know?" he asked.

"I don't," Fennix admitted. "But I think Light does."

Light looked up and looked at Fennix, surprise on his face. That was a question he had on his mind for the longest of times, but was never able to ask. So Light gave Fennix a silent thanks before looking back over to Nuzleaf in anticipation.

Nuzleaf sighed. "It's…not something I want to really want ta talk about. I hate thinkin' about that kinda stuff."

"I…know it might be hard," Light said. "But take it from Fennix, we all have darkness in our hearts. Fennix was only able to get rid of Dark Matter by accepting that. So…you know…"

 _That makes me the world's biggest hypocrite,_ Light thought. _Saying those words…but being so afraid of my past. And any darkness involved in it._

"I…suppose," Nuzleaf said. "If y'all don't mind, though, can we talk about that after Lush Forest? We'll probably need to camp for the night somewhere outside of the Open Pass, so that'll be a good time to chat. It'll…also let me think about a few things first."

"Sure!" Fennix said. "We're fine with that, right Light?"

"Y-yeah, we are," Light said.

Nuzleaf nodded. "Alright. Let's get on and get through this dungeon! There…I'll tell y'all the whole truth of who I was."

* * *

As Light expected, the travel through Lush Jungle was…short. Extremely short. While Light wasn't the best at telling time, a trait he and Fennix shared, he couldn't have imagined that the walk took more than an hour. It took them from morning to mid-afternoon to reach the dungeon in the first place, which was faster than Light remembered his first trip being where it took all day, and after the dungeon the sun was just starting to reach its zenith before it disappeared for the night.

"Oh, come on, that's it?!" Fennix asked when they finally exited the jungle. "You call that a dungeon? That was boring!"

"Open Pass is even worse," Light said. "Open Pass was pretty straightforward for a Mystery Dungeon. And the enemies there are really weak, and that's was when I was first trying to learn how to be a Pokémon and use my moves."

Fennix sighed. "Why couldn't you have appeared someplace a little more exciting?"

"Because I had to actually make it to Serene Village?" Light suggested. "That part's kinda important."

"You two kids," Nuzleaf mumbled to himself. "I don't know how you two can stand there and bicker with each other, but still be good friends."

Light, hearing Nuzleaf's words, just shrugged. "Honestly, I guess it's just because we know each other so well," he said. "I know where Fennix's boundaries are, know which subjects not to bring up, so I can tease anywhere else and know that she won't be hurt like it. I'm pretty sure it's the same with her."

"Ifin you say so," Nuzleaf said. "Honestly, if you guys can do that and still be so friendly, then I guess I shouldn't be complaining."

"We're fine," Fennix said with a wag of her tail. "But anyways, you said you'd tell us why Dark Matter possessed you now, right? So, give us the details!"

Nuzleaf sighed. He looked ahead, and Light saw that he was looking at the Open Pass, which was coming up with its light brown road and green patches where grass could grow. The hills where Light first appeared could be seen in the distance, a feeling of nostalgia from when he first came welling inside his heart. He had to wonder if Nuzleaf was also feeling the same thing as they both looked over the pass.

"I reckon I did promise the both of you," Nuzleaf said. "Alright, let's set up camp here and we'll chat. But if you decide to go it on your own after you hear what happened, then I can forgive you for that."

* * *

Setting up camp was never a difficult feat for Light. After all, he had done so an uncountable amount of times while mapping the world with Fennix. The pikachu wasn't even sure whether he spent more time outdoors than he did inside. Most of the time, it was their portable straw beds and a campfire that night.

So he was able to get the three straw beds out for each of them rather quickly while Nuzleaf gathered the fire wood and Fennix surrounded the fire pit with stones. Once the wood was in place, all it would take is a simple Ember attack from Fennix when the sun goes down and the cold of night sets in to bring back a comfortable heat to sleep in. Until then, though, everyone sat in their beds in the evening sky and waited for Nuzleaf to tell his story.

"I…suppose I should tell you where I came from, first," Nuzleaf said. "To be honest, seeing you two as a team, adventuring with each other, is kinda nostalgic. I…used to be on a team myself back in the day."

"Used to? You?" Fennix asked.

"Where do ya think I got that adventurin' vibe?" Nuzleaf asked. "I mean sure, some of the times I left were just to do…well, you know. But there were times where other times I was headin' out, hankerin' for an adventure."

"Ya see, I'm actually from the Air Continent. I used to be part of a Rescue Team called Team Shifty. Back then it was me, another Nuzleaf, and our leader Shiftry. Uhh…" Nuzleaf paused for a moment and looked at the two kids. "Y'all know what a Rescue Team is, right?"

"Yeah, there the guys who rescue other Pokémon, right?" Fennix asked.

"Rescue Teams are specialized in rescue missions," Light clarified for his partner. "While other groups like Exploration Teams, H.A.P.P.I, and even the Expedition Society, can go on and do rescue missions, it's more of a side job for us. Exploration Teams do it during dry spells or if they need a stable cash flow and don't want to hunt outlaws, H.A.P.P.I does it to have an adventure, and we do it by request from other Pokémon, since we're newer and don't have any notice boards for missions or anything like that. For Rescue Teams, though, that's their main job. Rescue missions, escort missions, or delivery missions are all that they do."

"Well, y'all sure are smart," Nuzleaf praised.

"The chief made sure we knew this stuff before letting us head to other continents," Light said as if it was no big deal.

"But that sounds pretty cool!" Fennix said, eyes wide in amazement. "You used to help a bunch of Pokémon! What's so bad about that?"

"Well…ya make it sound much better than it actually is," Nuzleaf said, rubbing the back of his head. "Honestly, we weren't all as good as you think. You see, for a while, we only took high paying jobs. Unless they pay out high amounts of cash, we wouldn't take any jobs. We became well known for our greed and…frankly nobody asked us for help much. Other Rescue Teams would take jobs cheaper and we got nowhere. For the longest time we were still Normal Rank, the lowest rank a Rescuer can be."

Nuzleaf sighed. "Things got worse one day…when we actually finally managed to get our first mission in a long time. Our leader has leafy fans that can be used to create a mighty fine wind. So this Jumpluff wanted us to help their friend who got caught in a rockfall by blowin' some air in their way and lettin' them float out of it. We took it, but…things went wrong. Shiftry's fans were strong enough that it split a thundercloud and angered the Legendary Pokémon Zapdos. They knocked us all out and our leader was kidnapped."

"He was?!" Fennix gasped. "Is he ok?"

"He made it out just fine," Nuzleaf assured her. "These three rescuers came, managed to beat up Zapdos despite bein' nothin' but unevolved Pokémon, and managed to save my leader. And how do we repay them? Not only did we give 'em nothin' for it, but when this rumor came about that said one of their members was gonna cause the end of the world, we, and the rest of the town chased them out and hunted them down."

"The end of the world?" Light asked at the same time Fennix asked, "You chased them out of town?!"

"Don't you lot worry nothin' about no rumor," Nuzleaf said. "It was all a bunch of bunk anyways. Nothin' but lies. Those three learned the truth and made it back to town safe and sound. Besides, those three ended up savin' the world from the disaster they were said to be causin', and that was all years ago. But…well, y'all can imagine how we felt about that. We felt lower than dirt, treating those three like that. That's…probably why our leader decided what he did."

* * *

" _I'm sorry but, I've decided to leave this team," Shiftry said one day while they were in their base._

" _What?!" both nuzleaf asked at the same time._

" _We've been nothing but lowlifes looking for a fortune for the longest of time that nobody will give us any work," Shiftry continued after all the exclamations of confusion were finished. "As a Rescue Team, we've had nothing but failure. After those kids saved us, I wanted to start over, but our past is still stained. So I've decided to move on."_

" _What in the heck do ya mean by, move on?" Nuzleaf asked._

" _Wishcash has been feeling the ache to move on to a new pond," Shiftry said. "So he asked me to lead the town in his stead. I…argued with him for a bit on it, saying that I wasn't worthy, but he wouldn't take it. So I agreed in the end and now I'm the leader of Pokémon Square. I decided to use this chance to atone for some of the things I've done, especially towards those kids."_

" _But what about us?" the other Nuzleaf asked. "What about our team?"_

" _I haven't disbanded it," Shiftry said. "I'll leave whether it should be disbanded or not as a decision you two make. I won't begrudge you two either way. You may continue Team Shifty if you two want to. If you do, hopefully you make this team into something greater then I could ever. If you don't, then I hope you two can lead successful lives elsewhere. But...as for me…I'm done."_

* * *

"Well, as y'all can understand, that went over like a ton of brick," Nuzleaf continued. "Both me and my fellow nuzleaf tried to keep the team up, but we really couldn't. We had one too many arguments between us, we eventually grew apart, and the team ended up disbanded anyways. We both went our own way, but those feelings of anger and jealousy stuck with me. I…hated Shiftry. I hated the other nuzleaf. I hated those three kids. There wasn't a lot I didn't hate from that time. Those feelings of resentment stuck with me for the longest of times, even when coming here to Serene Village."

Nuzleaf sighed. "And I…still do. Not as much as I used to, but I still resent those Pokémon. It's that resentment that Dark Matter used. That's how it took control over me. So…now you know."

 _So, that's it,_ Light thought.

"Have you ever thought about forming your own Rescue Team?" Fennix asked. "Pokémon are always in need of rescuing and I'm sure you could form a new one." The fennekin chuckled. "Take my Pops along with you. He needs the exercise."

 _Carracosta seems like the type who would hate you for even suggesting he go on an adventure,_ Light thought, eyes rolling.

"Thanks for the suggestion," Nuzleaf said. "But…I don't know if I can do that or not. Honestly, I'd be startin' over as a rookie rescuer and there are so many other better Rescue Teams. Who would want my help?"

"Honestly, who knows?" Light asked. "At the same time, though, who would want two random kids from the Expedition Society to help them? Yet Fennix and I have been on several missions. You never know until you try."

"I mean, I'll think about it," Nuzleaf said.

"Listen Nuzleaf…I still don't know how I feel about you," Light admitted. "But I can say this: if you have a dream, you should follow it. If you want to build a Rescue Team, then do so. If you want to do something else, then do it. But make sure you do it before you can't anymore."

"As for how much you hate them well…I've got nothing!" Fennix said cheerfully. "I figure, though, it wasn't those kid's fault. They're just like us, a bunch of meddling kids with their noses in too deep yet still come out somehow!"

 _Glad to know that you admit we end up way over our heads too often,_ Light thought.

"But honestly, everyone has feelings inside of them they don't really like," Fennix said. "That's one thing I learned from the whole ordeal with Dark Matter. We have to accept those parts of us. Otherwise, we can never learn from them. We can't grow. And we're stuck making the same mistakes over and over again."

"That's…some pretty wise thinkin' from such a kid," Nuzleaf said.

 _Makes me think sometimes,_ Light thought. _She doesn't remember much from her past life. Most, if not all, of Mew's memories are gone. But there are times where it feels like her past life is still a part of her. And that…_ Light shuddered at the thought. _Could what we learned from our adventure really change her that much? I hope so because…I hate the alternative. But I do have one thing to thank her for._

Light looked at Nuzleaf. _I at least know more about you now, Nuzleaf. I know your past. And while it still hasn't changed how conflicted I am, it does make me feel better a bit._

"Well anyways, it's getting late," Nuzleaf said. "Let's get the fire going, get some eatin' in, then get some sleep. We'll find the spot Light appeared tomorrow."


	7. The One Who Remembers

The morning sun filled Light's eyes, allowing him to wake up in the morning. While he was initially groggy, as he usually was when sleeping outdoors, his morning routine of getting up and stretching allowed him to quickly throw off any notion of returning back to bed and allowed him to think clearly. After doing so, he looked around to find the sleeping forms of both Fennix and Nuzleaf, neither of them stirring. The pikachu expected Fennix to still be asleep, as the amount of times it was the other way around could be counted on his one paw. As for Nuzleaf, Light was less sure, but not surprised to see the Grass/Dark-Type still asleep back up in his bed. Though Nuzleaf himself wasn't always at home, when he was Light typically woke first. That all changed, however, only a few minutes later as Nuzleaf started moving.

"Ugg…I reckin' it's mornin'," Nuzleaf said as he pulled himself to his feet. Once doing so, he noticed that Light was also awake. "Oh…I see you're up, Light."

"Unlike the fox currently sawing logs even in daytime, I'm a light sleeper," Light said. "Especially while camping. All it takes is a bit of sun going into my eyes and I'm up. As for her, though, good luck. I'll get breakfast ready."

"Nah, I'm sure just pushin' her a bit will wake her right up," Nuzleaf said as he walked over to Fennix's bed.

Light rolled his eyes, reaching to grab his bag he kept at his bedside. "I wouldn't recommend that," he warned.

Nuzleaf either didn't hear that, or ignored Light, because he placed his arms on the back of the sleeping fennekin anyways. "Hey, wake up!" Nuzleaf said as he shook her sleeping form. "It's time to get up!"

Fennix groaned and, with her eyes still closed, lifted her head and spat an Ember into Nuzleaf's face. Naturally, with Nuzleaf being part Grass-Type, this lit his head on fire, causing him to move away from the fennekin and run around screaming while Fennix returned to her earlier position as if nothing ever happened. Light, already anticipating this would happen, grabbed a water bottle and caught up with Nuzleaf. He jumped over Nuzleaf's head and poured the water down, putting out the fire.

"Well, I did warn you," Light said calmly.

"You could've warned me that would happen!" Nuzleaf yelled.

"I warned you something would happen," Light said. "But sorry. Yeah, waking Fennix is dangerous while camping. Depending on her mood that morning she might thank you with an Ember to the face. As I learned the hard way myself."

"Then how in the heck do you get her up?" Nuzleaf asked.

"Simple," Light said.

He walked once again to his bag and grabbed out a plate and an assortment of Fennix's favorite food-berries that he got from Carracosta: Kasib, Colbur, and Watmel. He then placed the plate in front of Fennix's face and waited. The fennekin instinctively sniffed the plate and then her eyes suddenly snapped open. It wasn't long before the plate was devoured and Fennix had an assortment of juices on her mouth.

"Hey, is it morning?" Fennix asked, completely energetic despite just waking up.

"Well, the sun is up in the east, our shadows are pretty long, and everyone else is awake," Light said. "So it must be the middle of the night. Sorry for waking you."

"Pfft. Jerk," Fennix said.

"Well, now that you're up, we should probably pack up camp and get moving," Light said. "We should head through Open Pass while it's still good and early. We're going to have to camp out another night before we get back to Serene Village, but I'd like it not to be sandwiched between two dungeons."

"How much longer until we reach the spot where Light appeared?" Fennix asked Nuzleaf.

"Not too long," Nuzleaf answered. "Once we make it through Open Pass, we're pretty close."

Light hesitated to ask the question he had in mind at first, but figured the timing was right to ask it. "So…it's not going to be the area I woke up, right?" the pikachu asked.

Nuzleaf's face fell. "No, it wasn't," he admitted. "When…me and the Beheeyem knocked you out and figured out about your memory loss, we took you a bit aways from where we first found you, just in case that spot triggered a memory or two. We didn't take you too far, but where you woke up wasn't the place you appeared."

 _Makes me wonder…will being there trigger any memories?_ Light asked himself. _It's been thousands of years, so I doubt that area looks like it did in the ancient past. Still…_ Light shuddered at the thought, _I wonder if it will. For either me or Fennix._

"Well, let's pack up camp and get a move on all the same," Light said. "Sooner we get to where I appeared, the better."

Fennix and Nuzleaf nodded and the three of them quickly packed up the beds and got rid of the fire pit. Once camp was gone, the three continued south, quickly entering the dungeon of Open Pass. As Light predicted, the area was no trouble for them whatsoever. The dungeon itself was mostly linear and the enemies there were no trouble.

After taking out a stantler with an Iron Tail, Light had to pause a moment in contrast. He remembered the stantler in there being much more trouble for him when he first came through, so much so that he usually had Nuzleaf take care of them. Now, though, the pikachu could hardly consider them a threat to their wellbeing.

"Sure takes you back, huh, Light?" Nuzleaf asked, noticing Light's expression. "Back then, you just couldn't get a handle on your moves, so you had me fight everythin. Now, you don't need my help anymore."

"Yeah, I guess," Light said, still amazed at himself. "Back then, the only move I could get used to was Quick Attack. I just couldn't control my electricity."

"Not that you're any better with it," Fennix scoffed. "Your aim leaves a lot to be desired."

"That's why I stick with Thunderpunch," Light said. "No worry about missing with that. Still don't know how you can aim so well. You're even good at aiming at Pokémon who try to wake you up, despite still being asleep. I'd say that's impeccable aim."

Fennix blushed at that statement. "W-well, what if it was an outlaw or something?"

"As far as I know, your target has been mostly me," Light said. "And I wouldn't exactly consider myself an outlaw." The thought, _that I know of,_ slipped through Light's head, but he quickly discarded it.

"And what about…?" Nuzleaf asked, but was interrupted when Light made eye contact and shook his head.

 _Considering what I just said…I'd rather not go anywhere near that,_ Light thought. _For both my sake and his._

"Still…it's amazing how far we've come," Light said, mostly for himself. "I used to barely be able to hold my own in a fight and you were always rushing around and getting us lost. Now we're both able to go through dungeons like this easily."

"Feeling nostalgic, are we?" Fennix asked.

"Maybe a little," Light admitted.

 _After all, who knows what will happen after we find what we're looking for today,_ Light thought. _One of us could be gone…or I could learn something that makes me leave anyways. I just…hope I'm paranoid._

"Anyways, I see the exit just head," Light said. "You're in charge of leading from there, Nuzleaf."

"Yeah, I know," Nuzleaf said. "I already know which way we're goin'. We should be there faster than an arcanine goin' Extremespeed."

So Nuzleaf stepped forward to lead the group once they got out of the dungeon. While they walked, Light kept an eye on the scenery. He eventually noticed the path to the spring that revealed he first became a Pokémon on his right. They were close. He could tell.

"Just a bit longer," Light mumbled to himself.

"Y'all can actually see it now, if ya look," Nuzleaf said.

So Light and Fennix walked around to Nuzleaf's sides to look over. Ahead of them was a small green cape overlooking the vast ocean. Light could almost feel the breeze from the ocean blowing his way and felt a touch of nostalgia. Suddenly…a wave of emotions blew over the Pikachu as if it came from the ocean itself. His heart suddenly started beating so hard that it felt like it was going to rip itself out of Light's chest.

"I've…been here before," Light concluded. "I'm sure of it. And when I looked over that cape…I was happy. Happy because…I was finally back where I belong."

"Back where you belong?" Nuzleaf asked. "What do you mean? Aren't you from the human world?"

Light shook his head. "I…don't know. That's…just what I feel…what I remember. It's…it's so odd."

"Try talkin' through it," Nuzleaf urged.

Light took a moment to look at his own paws. "I remember, it was bright. Really bright around me. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized I was standing on the edge of that cape. I…think I was facing the ocean. Then…I looked at my paws and realized that I became a pikachu. Seeing that, feeling the breeze, I must have known I came back to this world. And I was happy, because I felt like I belonged here. That my home…is here."

"You must have really loved this world, back when you were partnered with Mew," Fennix mentioned.

"…Let's go," Light said, a string of courage suddenly reaching him, making his past fears vanish like the wind. "…Let's figure out if something was left for us here."

"Yeah, on it!" Fennix said.

So both of the kids ran for the cape to see what they could find on there. It didn't take them long before they found something of note. On the edge of the cape, in the exact area Light was sure he first appeared then, there was another stone tablet with footprint shaped writing on it. The three Pokémon all walked up to it, Fennix in the middle with Light and Nuzleaf on her right and left side respectively.

"Another tablet is here," Light mumbled to himself. "I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't remember this being here before."

"My mind wasn't…exactly in the right place at the time, but I don't remember seeing it either," Nuzleaf said.

"So…was this put here recently?" Fennix asked.

"It must have been," Light said. "We know that the tablet in the Trees of Abundance wasn't set there until sometime after you were born. This couldn't have been set here until sometime after I came into this world. Plus, we know that the first one referenced you in a way that wouldn't make sense without knowing you're Mew. But, it's still really hard to tell."

"Well, what does it say?" Nuzleaf asked.

"I'm getting to that," Fennix said.

"'These are the archives of the one who remembers, the last who knows of the events that happened in the ancient past. This archive is on the human who took up the name of Light.'"

"'Who took up the name of Light?'" Nuzleaf asked. "What in the heck does that mean?"

Light shook his head. "I don't know. Read more, Fennix. Maybe it'll talk about that."

Fennix nodded before continuing. "'Where Light came from or his relationship to Mew is unknown. It's not known where they met or how, or even the circumstances of their meeting. Both the human and Pokémon kept that information mostly to themselves and that information disappeared with them. However, while the circumstances that brought them together is unknown, the circumstances of why the human was brought here isn't. Dark Matter was slowly gaining power and it was impossible to determine who was controlled by it and who was not. So a human, one not attuned to the negativity of Pokémon, was called here to help stop it."

 _Oh…so I guess I'm not learning where I come from through this,_ Light thought, not sure whether he's relieved or not from that. _But still…that means that there's no one left in this world that knows who I was. I wonder if I'll ever know._

"Oh…really?" Fennix asked as she silently read on.

"What's up?" Light asked.

Fennix answered him by continuing out loud. "'At first, the human wasn't trusted. Generations ago, something involving humans happened that made them untrustworthy, and those feeling stuck. So there was nobody willing to work with the Human to defeat Dark Matter, some even going so far as to say they'd rather let the planet be destroyed over letting a human walk around freely.' Wow…that's horrible!"

"Something that made humans untrustworthy?" Light asked. "Does that mean there were humans before me?"

"Somewhere over on the Air Continent there are ruins of labs that we're pretty sure used to be used by humans," Nuzleaf said. "But I reckin' nobody 'round here knows nothin' about what happened to them. 'Lest, nobody I ever asked did."

Fennix nodded. "'However, the human didn't give up. So he appealed to everyone he could, trying to find a way to gain their trust. Eventually, the Legendary and Mythical Pokémon came together and gave the human several tasks to do. Should the human and Mew complete those tasks, the human would be allowed in this world and would gain the trust of the Legendary Pokémon. Ever determined, the human and Mew set off to complete those tasks, and succeeded despite expectations. ' …Yeah, that sounds like Light alright."

"I…guess I haven't changed much since my time with Mew, even after losing my memory," Light admitted.

Continuing with the story on the tablet, Fennix read, "'The human did not give a name for himself at first. He was simply called by his species name of human, as most Pokémon were apt to do in public as well. However, when it finally became time to confront Dark Matter once and for all, that was when the human finally took on the name, Light, as he was to lead the counter-attack against the dark.'"

"So wait," Fennix realized. She looked to her right at Light. "Does that mean…your name isn't actually Light?"

Light looked into his paws and thought for a few seconds. "…I never knew…but I thought about it," Light admitted. "I think maybe a part of me knew or guessed that Light wasn't actually my name. But…that's all I remember for my name. And I'm…fine with that. I'm fine with using Light as my name."

"Well I think Light is a really good name for you," Fennix said.

"Thanks…I guess," Light said. He dropped his paws and looked back at the tablet. "So, is there anything else?"

"Oh, right!" Fennix said. She turned her head back to the tablet and read the final passages. "'During the missions the human and Mew took, they gained four other allies. If you seek to know more about them, you who carries the spirit of Mew, then go to where the first task took place, on the border where Mist and Water were once one.'"

Light scratched the back of his head and thought of things for a few seconds. "…There's a lot to think about here," the pikachu said. "We should take this tablet back with us to Serene Village. There we can eat and think about things for a few moments. We should also let Mawile know about what we found. That way we can think about what comes next."

"Yeah, let's go," Fennix said.

Light grabbed the stone tablet and placed it in his bag before the trio walked their way back to Serene Village.

* * *

It was evening on the next day when the trio finally made it back to Serene Village. As such, they all returned to Carracosta's house for dinner that night. While Carracosta was preparing the food and Nuzleaf was chatting with him, Light and Fennix were sitting next to each other, Expedition Gadget out and Mawile already on the other side. Fennix was busy re-reading the tablet back to her.

"Interesting _,"_ Mawile said as Fennix finished. "So, the resistance group headed by Mew and Light had six members including them. Which means you have four Pokémon left to discover."

"Still, there are a lot of questions that leaves us," Light said. "One of which is who is 'the one who remembers'? And how do they know so much about what happened in the ancient past."

"If they're descended from the one who received the Harmony Scarves, perhaps it's an oral tradition that was passed down through the family," Mawile suggested. "However, this leads to the possibility that some things got lost during the span of generations. If so, then the credibility of this 'one who remembers' is questionable."

"Oral…tradition?" Fennix asked.

"Sorry," Mawile said. "That means that it's a story passed down through talking about it generation from generation. A story a parent tells to a child or, more usually, a story a village bard or elder will tell to the villagers within it. It's a long-standing tradition from generations ago, but due to its nature, parts of the work can be lost or changed during the process of carrying it across generations by only word of mouth."

"But they know how to write using the language and writing of the Ancient Past," Light noted. "That's…really strange."

"Yes, it is," Mawile said. "The ancient footprint writing went out of favor soon after the Era of Darkness ended. Only archeologists know how to read it, and even then, it's very difficult to translate. If you guys are right and this is recent writing, then somebody must be intentionally invoking that style. But to do that…is difficult. Translating the ancient writing into our language is difficult enough, but translating it back into the ancient writing is difficult without a complete understanding of how it works. I couldn't write in the ancient writing despite having studied it for years."

"I…don't think I could write in it either," Fennix admitted. "I don't really know the language that well. It's just…when I look at it, I can tell what it says. It's like it's instinct or something."

"It's likely one of the few remaining remnants Mew in your soul," Mawile said. "A basic instinct left behind."

"Back to this "one who remembers," though," Light said. "For now, I think we should trust them. When I heard Fennix reading the story something just…clicked in my mind. I still can't remember much about my past…but what she said feels right. It felt like something I might have done once. We might learn more about them from finding the rest of their tablets."

"We might," Mawile admitted. "And they do have one thing right that we know of. 'Where Mist and Water were once one.' If they're talking about the Mist and Water continents, then they're right. It's been a long standing archeological theory that those two were once one a single continent, but were split off because of seismic activity. It's never been proven conclusively yet, but it's a theory that's gained ground lately."

"So should we look on the western side of the Water Continent or eastern side of the Mist Continent?" Light asked.

"I…can't really answer that," Mawile said. "It's thought that the northwester portions of the Water Continent were once connected within the gulf to the east of Noe Town, as those areas have similarity shaped landmasses. However, if you actually measure the two, the area of land from the Water Continent does not match the area of the gulf in the Mist Continent. That's why it's been unproven for a long time, despite similar mineral deposits being found on the edges of each of these continents."

"So…are we stuck?" Fennix asked.

"Thinking about it, if the land was changed from seismic activity, the place we're looking for might not even be there," Light said thoughtfully, with a pinch of worry in his voice.

"Yes, there are many questions," Mawile said. "And too many variables. It would almost be easier to ask someone who was around there at that time."

Light and Fennix looked at each other in confusion. "Uhh…Mawile," Light said. "Aside from that 'one who remembers' and the Legendary Pokémon, I don't think there's a Pokémon around anymore from that time. And the Legendary Pokémon either don't remember or don't want to remember, because they didn't know Dark Matter when it came."

A thought came to Light, one that, when it reached him, caused his mouth to open and then shut, hesitating to state it. However, he eventually pushed back his hesitation to say, "Or, are you talking about Xerneas?"

"Not necessarily, though I'll bet we have to cross that road eventually," Mawile said. "No, I'm talking about something we learned. Since the events of Dark Matter, and especially after you two started your expedition, we've been doing as much research as possible into the events that happened all those years ago. As such, we've discovered something."

"There are these creatures known as the Voices of Life," Mawile explained. "They aren't Pokémon exactly; however, they can take on the forms of Pokémon if they so wish. We don't know much about them, but it's believed that they're avatars of Xerneas himself, sent to help preserve life in this world. There's supposed to be one for each region of this world. As they aren't Pokémon and are tied to the Tree of Life, they're likely still around to this day."

"So if we can find the Voice of Life for either the Water or Mist Continent, we can try asking them, right?" Fennix asked.

"I don't think it's that easy," Light said. "I doubt the Voices of Life are exactly hanging around, waiting for us to talk to them."

"Most of the time, you would be right," Mawile said. "If the Voice of Life for the Water Continent even has a Pokémon avatar, we wouldn't know what it is. However, the Voice of Life for the Mist Continent we do know about. According to a Pokémon named Swanna, who owns a house in Paradise Town, there's a hydreigon who has claimed several times to be a Voice of Life in her establishment. That Pokémon likes to visit that house often. So going to Paradise Town to meet hydreigon might be a good first step."

"Sounds like a long shot," Light admitted. "Why would a Voice of Life be hanging around there?"

"It has some relation with an incident that happened in the Mist Continent a few years back," Mawile said. "It's a long story on exactly what happened. If you'd like, I can show you the official reports from H.A.P.P.I on it later."

"Hey, it gives us a place to look right now!" Fennix said. "I say we go for it!"

"I guess," Light said. "Thanks Mawile. We'll head to the Mist Continent tomorrow, then."

"You're welcome," Mawile said. "While you're in Lively Town, though, would you mind dropping off the tablets you found? I want to do some research on them."

"Got nothing better to do with them, so sure," Light said. "We will."

Light and Fennix turned off their Expedition Gadgets and put them back in their scarves. With that, they looked up from their spot in the house to see what the two adults were doing. However, as the two kids looked up, they saw the two adults looking down at them.

"So, y'all are headin off to a different continent, then?" Nuzleaf asked.

"Yeah, looks like we are," Light said. "Should have probably expected it at some point in time. Too bad, too. I was hoping to stay in Serene for a while."

"But it's time for some adventure!" Fennix said, nearly bouncing from her spot. "We're going to a new town!"

Carracosta looked at both Light and Fennix with a serious gaze. "…Be sure to stay safe out there," Carracosta said.

"We will," both Fennix and Light said at the same time.

"Well then, I reckin' we should head home, Light," Nuzleaf told Light.

Light nodded. "Yeah, I guess we should."

The two of them walked out of Carracosta's house. While they were walking, however, Light tapped Nuzleaf's shoulder, signaling him to stop. When Nuzleaf stopped and looked at Light, he noticed the pikachu had his left paw outstretched.

"Nuzleaf…thanks," Light said. "…For bringing me back…and for telling me about your past. It…helps."

Nuzleaf rubbed the back of his head. "I…know things have been awkward between us. Things…still kinda are. But thanks for giving me a chance."

"I…don't hate you," Light said. "No matter what I feel, I don't hate you. It might take some time…but I hope one day…we can go back to the way things were."

"I hope so too," Nuzleaf said, shaking Light's paw.


	8. Azure Clash

The Mist Continent was known for its colder climates and the fine fog that would sometimes cover the ground, tinting the land in a blue hue and giving it a mythical feel. It was that fog that the continent was named after. The natives of this continent didn't mind the fog, and it mystified those from the outside that walked across the grassy plains of the continent.

Luckily for both Light and Fennix, that mist surrounded them as they walked north from Noe Town to try and find the Paradise Town Mawile talked about. Light had his Expedition Gadget out with a map on it and was looking at it while Fennix looked around to make sure they were going the right way. As such, the two made great progress north, without any difficulty.

"So, wonder what Paradise Town is like?" Fennix asked. "Sounds like a really interesting place."

"I don't really know," Light admitted. "I know how it came to be from our studies. Paradise Town used to be two places, Post Town and Paradise. Post Town had been there for a long time while Paradise was just made a few years ago. I believe it was started by someone called Flynn. However, Paradise grew so big that it was agreed to join the two together. Beyond that, I don't know much."

"Heh," Fennix closed her eyes, wiggled her tail, and had a prideful look on her face. "Well, in this case, I'm more of an expert than you."

"Oh really?" Light asked skeptically. "The one asking me what it's like is more of an expert on what it's like then I am? Are you sure about that?"

"It's not just Flynn who runs it, but an entire team," Fennix said. "Their called Team Leaf Blade, a team founded by a snivy named Flynn and an oshawott called Hubert. Bet they were sure surprised when they went from making their own little Paradise to end up running an entire town."

Light shrugged. "Well, if it's a place called Paradise Town, they probably know what they're doing."

"They do," Fennix said, her eyes open and excited. "I haven't heard a single bad thing about Paradise Town. It's said to be a great place that accommodates for any Pokémon that visits it. It's also said to be one of the most beautiful towns in the known world. And it all started from a wasteland that nobody thought was worth much. Team Leaf Blade's story is that anyone can make anything out of their lives so long as they try!"

 _Considering how you were when I met you, I guess I can understand why you love this story so much then,_ Light thought. _Team Leaf Blade must've given you hope that one day you'll be able to join the Expedition Society as long as you tried hard enough. And here we are now._

"Don't get too taken in by the sights," Light said. "Remember, we're here to find out if Hydreigon's here."

"Yeah yeah, I know," Fennix said. "Still, I can't wait to see what they've got."

"Well, we should be close," Light said, once again checking out his map. "If we keep going the way we're going, we'll enter Paradise from the north-west in an area called Paradise's Forest. Should be interesting to see."

"Then we must be really close!" Fennix said. "Look over there, I can see a forest already!"

Light looked up and in the direction the fire-fox's paw was pointing at and saw that she was right. They could see a large forest ahead of them, the same area Light was looking at on his map. As such, the pikachu placed his gadget back in his bag, no longer needing his map.

"Looks like you're right," he said. "Alright, we're definitely close then."

It was still a couple of minutes left for them to finally reach the forest, but the two reached their destination in due time. Fennix, as usual, ran into the forest first while Light staggered behind a bit. So long as they weren't heading someplace dangerous, he didn't mind that much, but he still wished the fennekin wouldn't run off that much, as he wanted them to search together. However, Light easily caught up to her, as she stopped just a few feet beyond the entrance to the forest. And, once he took a few steps in, he quickly figured out why.

Sunlight itself was blocked completely by the thick trees above them, but what it lacked in sunlight it made up for in other types of lights. Lanterns lit up both sides of a small dirt path leading further into the forest, each one giving off a soft light that gave the area a very mythical quality. The lights were also colored yellow, orange, and reds, almost making it look like there was fire floating all around them. In fact, Light was almost worried that the forest was on fire at first until he saw the black metal poles tethering the lanterns to the ground.

"W-wow," Fennix said. "This place…looks amazing."

"Definitely not your average forest, that's for sure," Light said. He noticed all the Pokémon walking around the forest, some of whom were just as entranced in the light as they were and some of whom seemed more used to it. "You can tell who lives here and who's visiting, though, pretty easily," Light said with a chuckle. "And we're definitely on the 'visiting' side."

"I…almost want to just stay here, looking at this view all day," Fennix said.

"Pfft, this isn't even the best view we've got," a voice from behind Light and Fennix said. "If you're going to stop and stare like this in every part, you're going to be here forever."

Light and Fennix turned around to see an emolga and dunsparce behind them. "Hey, aren't you two…?" Fennix asked.

"The same emolga and dunsparce you helped way back then?" emolga asked. "Only if you two are the same green-scarfed pikachu and fennekin that helped us back then."

Light smiled. "Emolga, Dunsparce! It's been a while!"

"Light…and Fennix, right?" Dunsparce asked. "Yeah, it's great to see you too. What are you two doing in Paradise?"

"We should ask you the same question," Fennix said. "But this is probably just a massive coincidence, isn't it?"

"Probably," Emolga said. "Thing is, we work here. We're part of Team Leaf Blade."

Fennix's eyes widened. "You're part of the Team Leaf Blade? The owners of Paradise Town?! Why didn't you say anything?! Wow, I can't believe I'm friends with members of the Leaf Blade!"

Light rolled his eyes. "If I had to guess, I'd say your reaction is probably why they didn't immediately tell us," Light said.

Emolga stood high with a prideful face. "Nah, if the kid wants to praise me, he can. We are pretty awesome."

"We didn't tell you mostly because it wasn't on our minds at the time," Dunsparce said. "I was still recovering and felt…" Dunsparce paused for a few seconds. "Never mind. A-and Emolga was too worried about me at the time. That and, honestly, I don't consider us to be that big of a deal. Our leaders, Hubert and Flynn, did most of the work. We just helped."

"What were you guys doing in the Water Continent back then if you've got this Paradise to take care of, anyways?" Light asked.

"Same thing as most organizations, I guess," Emogla said, his normally boisterous voice turned more somber. "We were seeing if the Water Continent had any information on the whole Pokémon turning to stone incidents that we didn't have over here at Mist. Flynn was especially worried since Hubert was said to be their next target."

"Oh…that," Light and Fennix both said at the same time.

"Yeah, that," Emogla agreed. "Bet it was about as much of a fun time for you as it was for us. You guys lose somebody too?"

"My old Pops," Fennix said.

"…Someone very important to me," was all Light said, leaving it vague like that.

"L-luckily it's all over now!" Fennix said, putting some pep in her voice to lighten the mood. "Everyone we lost is now back with us again, and something like this won't ever happen again!"

"I sure hope so, kid," Emolga said, stretching. "Two world ending incidents is more than enough for one lifetime."

"But back to what we asked earlier," Dunsparce said, "what are you two doing here? Are you here to visit or…?"

"Nah, I'd love to, but we've got something important we need to do," Fennix said.

"We heard there was a Pokémon called Hydreigon who's occasionally around here," Light said. "Is he around now? The Expedition Society has some business with him."

"Is he in trouble or…?" Emolga asked.

Fennix shook her head. "Nothing like that! We need his help with something. But we can't say much more beyond that. Sorry."

"Well, if he's here somewhere, I can probably guess where," Dunsparce said. "We'll take you there. And if we're lucky, we'll pass by our leaders. They'll know better than we will if Hydreigon is around."

"Alright, thanks," Fennix said.

So Emolga and Dunsparce took the two outside the forest into a grassy plain that seemed to stretch on for miles and had flowers of multiple colors everywhere. They passed by a house and a small meeting area with two different boards and two closed gates. From a glance as they passed by, Light noticed that one of the boards had a bunch of job postings on it. If the pikachu had a guess, that's where they went on their missions.

"Oh hey, Hubert! Flynn!" Emolga's voice said, telling Light that while he was looking at their notice board, some Pokémon approached. So Light looked over to see who was there.

Two Pokémon were standing in front of a large arch. Once of them was a dewott wearing glasses of gold over his eyes while the other one was a snivy with a twisted band on his right leafy arm. The snivy had a warm smile on his face while the dewott had an air of superiority about him that Light wasn't sure whether he liked or not.

"Hey Emolga! Dunsparce! Glad to see you two back!" the snivy, Flynn, said. "And are those guests?"

"Sort of," Dunsparce said. "These are the two kids I told you about. The ones that helped me when…you know."

"Ah, I see," the dewott, Hubert, said. "So, then you two are the ones who escorted Emogla to Dunsparce's rescue. I must thank you on behalf of Team Leaf Blade, then. Those were dangerous times and it was imperative that Dunsparce was rescued as soon as possible before the worst befallen him."

"Wow, that was long winded," Fennix said, softly enough that only Light could hear her. "Uhh you're…welcome I guess," she said a bit louder. "Happy to help!"

"Yeah, anyways, these two are apparently searching for Hydreigon," Emolga said. "The Expedition Society needs his help for something, or something like that." Emolga looked at Light and Fennix for clarification.

"Yeah, we need to ask him a few questions," Light said. "Preferably alone. Beyond that, we really can't tell you."

"It's classified Expedition Society business!" Fennix said cheerfully.

Hubert used his right paw to push his glasses closer to his face as he looked over the two children. "You, members of the Expedition Society, desire a private meeting with Hydreigon, do you?" the dewott said as he examined the two kids. "Interesting."

Light was slightly creeped out by the way Hubert said that, but pressed on regardless. "Yeah, so…would you mind telling us if he's here. Or if he isn't, when he'll come back?"

"Hmm…I am willing to help you in our quest, but I have something I wish from you first," Hubert said. "There's something I wish to know, and I believe this will be the best way for me to ascertain this knowledge."

"Uhh…can you say that again?" Fennix asked.

Hubert reached his paws to his sides and grabbed out his scalchops. With both of them in his hands, he used Razor Shell to summon two blades of water in both his hands. With his sword unsheathed, he pointed the one in his right paw at the two kids.

"I wish for you to face me in combat, one on one," Hubert said. "I do not desire nor expect you to win. Rather, I find how one presents themselves in combat to be a good indicator of who they are and the strength of their convictions."

"Y-you seriously want to fight?" Fennix asked.

"Hubert, they're kids," Emolga said in a deadpan nature.

"I acknowledge that," Hubert said. "They are young. However, the Expedition Society is reputable. After all, they were the ones who solved the turning to stones incident. So I trust that these kids can handle a simple sparing session with me."

"But…why?" Flynn asked.

Hubert shook his head. "I said it before. There's something I am innately curious about when I see these two. Perhaps I am wrong, but I still wish to see if I'm right about something. Besides, a simple fight will not hurt anybody."

Emolga rolled his eyes before walking up to the two kids. "Sorry about this," he said. "Our leader seems to like getting to know other Pokémon through fighting instead of talking like a normal Pokémon. He's probably just trying to make sure you're not pulling some sort of prank or something."

"It's…alright I guess?" Fennix said.

Light stepped forward. "Alright, I'll fight first," he said.

"You sure about that?" Fennix asked.

"You have a massive type disadvantage," Light explained. "And he seems like a really good fighter. So it's best if I fight him."

Fennix nodded. "Alright, Light! Show Team Leaf Blade Team Rebirth's finest!"

 _That was a little long winded, but I'll try,_ Light thought as he stepped forward closer. Hubert also stepped forward himself.

"Emolga, Dunsparce, would you mind going out to the fields and harvesting for us some recovery items?" Hubert asked.

"Alright, fine," Emolga said with a groan. Before he left, though, he looked directly at Light. "Hey kid, be careful. Don't think you've got an easy victory because of a type advantage. Hubert, for all his oddities, is one tough fighter."

"I'll be fine," Light promised.

With that, the battle field was set with Hubert and Light standing in it while Flynn and Fennix watched from the outside. Hubert closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them up again. Once he did, he had an intense expression in his eyes as he pointed one of his Razor Shell blades at Light.

"I give you the first move," Hubert said. "Show me your power!"

Light complied and drew electricity into his left arm. With his Thunderpunch ready, he flew forward at the dewott, ready to strike as hard as he could. Light looked like a blur, but despite all his speed, Hubert skillfully dodged to Light's right side, avoiding the Thunderpunch altogether.

"So, your preference is your left hand," Hubert said. "Interesting."

Hubert struck next as Light was still recovering from his miss, thrusting his two water blades forward until they hit Light, then sharply swung them away from each other, yelling "Double Wind!" as he did so. The powerful attack sent Light a few feet away, scraping his stomach across the dirt as he slid. Light knew he got several cuts and bruises in the chest and stomach from that attack and groaned as soon as he stopped.

Despite the pain, though, Light pushed it all into the back of his mind and focused on getting up again to strike again. Light managed to stagger back up after a few seconds before turning around to face his opponent once again. However, once he did so, he noticed that Hubert was in the air, arms together forming a sphere of water. The dewott shot it as soon as Light noticed it, only giving the pikachu a second to jump out of the way before the Water Pulse hit where he used to stand.

"W-what's the big idea?!" Light asked when Hubert landed back on the ground.

"An opponent inside a Mystery Dungeon wouldn't allow you the chance to recover when you're down," Hubert said. "So therefore, I naturally won't either. When I spar, I treat my opponent the same I would an enemy in a dungeon, showing no quarter no matter the situation. If you cannot adapt to that, then this will be a quick fight."

As if to demonstrate his point, Hubert ran forward with both his Razor Shells in hand to strike at Light. This time, though, Light was ready. He poured his energy to the ground to activate a Grass Knot and trip the dewott up. Hubert did not see that coming and ended up tripping on the blade of grass, giving Light the opportunity. The pikachu once again poured electrical power into his left paw before running forward and slamming Hubert in the chin with a Thunderpunch attack, sending the Water-Type flying from the force. This time it was Hubert who was sent to the ground, giving Light the chance to recover for a few seconds.

Hubert got off the ground and brushed the dirt off his fur. "Heh, ferocious," Hubert said. "And tricky too. I have never met a pikachu with the knowledge of the move Grass Knot before, nor have I seen the move used in quite that way. That was quite well done, tripping me up to allow yourself an opening to attack. Though you should have capitalized and attacked while I was done. I will not offer you mercy on the ground, so I suggest you do the same."

"H-how are you still up…?" Light panted.

"After that?" Hubert finished for him. "Yes, you did just hit me with two advantageous attacks. However, my Partner is a Grass-Type and Team Leaf Blade has both Emolga and another Grass-Type within its ranks. Though I cannot pretend they don't still hurt, I am used to taking attacks that are my weakness. You should not expect to beat me by mere advantage."

Hubert rushed forward again, this time with a great leap to avoid any possibility of Light using Grass Knot to slip him up. The pikachu figured that out rather quickly, and instead expended his energy into wreathing his tail in silver metal to block the next attack. So while Hubert slashed at him with his Razer Shells, Light threw his tail in front of him and blocked with Iron Tail. The two attacks clashed, sending both Pokémon to a stand-still.

"Blocking my attack with yours," Hubert said. "Interesting. Though it won't help you in this situation."

Hubert relinquished his hold before spinning to Light's side and slashing from there. Once one slash connected, and Light dropped his guard, Hubert yelled "Sword Rain!" before stabbing Light with his Razer Shells several times. He finished the attack by doing horizontal slashes with both his swords, sending Light flying once again.

Light was in pain, from both the previous attack and being dragged across the ground again, but he still picked himself up before Hubert attacked again. Once he got back up, he faced his opponent, though his stance was hunched down from the pain he endured. So Light knew, as he looked at Hubert, that he couldn't win if the battle continued like it was.

 _I…need to think of something, and think of it fast,_ Light thought. _There's gotta be some way to beat Hubert. Think…_ Light looked at the two scalchops he had in his paws. _He uses those for most of his attacks. If I could just get rid of those, maybe I could actually win this._

And Light saw his opportunity when, for Hubert's next attack he brought both his scalchops together in one place to his right. So Light, knowing the situation was do or die, wreathed his tail in silver and got ready to swing. He waited and waited for Hubert's to get close, and once Hubert was in range, he closed his eyes and slashed his tail with all his might directly at the scalchops. Light almost felt his heart stop and time slow down as he attacked, his hopes pinning on making contact. And, after a few seconds, to his relief, he felt his tail impact something hard and, when he opened his eyes, he saw both of Hubert's scalchops go flying with the dewott's face surprised at what happened. Light, on the other hand, knew he had an opportunity and decided to take it.

First, before Hubert could react, Light slammed his electrified fist into him, sending the dewott flying back. Taking Hubert's own advice, Light decided to end the match then and now with his strongest attack. So he wreathed his entire body in electricity before rushing forward at Hubert with his Volt Tackle attack. Hubert managed to get up and notice Light charging at him, his palms already forming a Water Pulse to counter, but Light kept going, confident that he would be able to run right through the Water Pulse and still hit Hubert.

Unfortunately, the pikachu severely underestimated the Water-type's ability to strategize, even in a pinch.

"Guardian Frost!" Hubert yelled before firing an Ice Beam straight from his mouth into his Water Pulse and slamming it to the ground. Large icicles suddenly formed in front of Hubert, completely obscuring him. What's worse, Light was already on a collision course and could not stop his attack, so he ended up running head first into the ice. And, despite the force of the Electric-type's attack, the ice remained while Light was sent back. Light had to push himself hard not to lose consciousness from the impact on his head alone, and when he did recover, he saw Hubert in front of his icicle wall, scalchops once again in his paws.

"I must admit, you have managed an impressive showing," Hubert said. "But it is all over now! Prepare to face the wrath of my most powerful artes!"

So Hubert jumped over and behind Light and, before the pikachu could turn around, cried "Thousand Shells!" before he slashed at Light with his blades. This time, though, there was a fair few feet distance between them, and thus the slashes came from the water pouring off the Razer Shell attack and not the attack itself.

After that attack was done, Light's vision turned from fields of green to a world of azure as Hubert used Surf to fill the entire field with water. After that was over, Light felt himself spinning around continually, getting dizzy from the impact of a Water Pulse and the surrounding waters. All the while, though just barely, he could hear Hubert chant.

"Lost in the waves of blue, can you stand up to the wrath of the ocean itself?! Now face my ultimate arte! Azure blade!"

It didn't take Light long to realize that, while he was spinning around, unable to breath or react to anything, Hubert was about to slash at him with one final attack. So Light braced himself as best as he could in his defenseless position, knowing that this was it. He lost.

"Protect!"

The blow Light was expecting never came, and instead the water surrounding him fell to the ground, allowing him to plop onto the ground. Light coughed for a few seconds, eyes still closed, and had trouble breathing, but he eventually opened his eyes back up to see exactly what happened. He eventually found it to his right, as he saw a green barrier with a yellow fox inside of that barrier. On the other side of the barrier, Hubert was pushing both his swords, but he couldn't find any purchase.

"F-Fennix," Light coughed out.

Hubert jumped back as Fennix's Protect wore off. Still, the fennekin remained in the battlefield, glaring at Hubert. Light, on the other hand, tried his best to get back up despite all the fatigue he felt at the ensuing fight. The pikachu managed to get on his feet, but knew that he had no fight left in him.

"I believe this fight was supposed to be one-on-one," Hubert said.

"Yeah, and it still is!" Fennix said. "You had your one-on-one with Light. Now it's my turn!"

"Fennix!" Light yelled.

Fennix looked back at Light and winked. "I've got this, Light," she said. Looking back at Hubert, she continued, "I'm not just going to stand here and watch you hurt my friend! So now it's my turn!"

"You would fight me for your friend, despite your obvious type disadvantage?" Hubert asked.

"You bet your shell blades I would!" Fennix said, a fiery determination in her eyes. "So bring it on!"

Instead of fighting, though, Hubert smiled before swinging his blades to let the water fall from them. Once that was done, he placed both his scalchops to his side. Light and Fennix both looked at the dewott with surprise at the fact that he didn't continue the fight.

"I have seen all I want," Hubert said. "I have no more need for this fight to continue."

"What?!" Light and Fennix both asked.

Emolga and Dunsparce walked up, Emolga with a bag, before giving some berries and an Elixir to Light. Light ate up all the berries and drank the Elixir, feeling his energy returning to him as he did so. As such, Light was able to stand up straighter to face Hubert.

"So, what's all this about?" Fennix asked.

"As I said before, there was something I wished to learn about you before I take you to Hydreigon," Hubert said. "I just have one last thing to ask of you. You state that you are here on business for the Expedition Society. However, with the passion you had while fighting, I can tell that your business is one of a more personal nature. Tell me, Light. Is it for you, or for your partner?"

"You can tell that?" Fennix asked.

"It's how he fought," Hubert said. "There was a conviction and a determination in his eyes, one much stronger than if he was fighting just as part of an organization. This means something to the two of you, correct?"

"It's…mostly for her," Light admitted. "It's a bit for me too, but mostly for her.

Hubert smiled. "I suspected just as much. To fight with such conviction over something that you only have a small stake in. You are certainly an interesting Pokémon, working so hard for someone other than yourself." Hubert walked forward and placed his right paw on Light's left shoulder. "However, be careful. While fighting for something for someone else is noble, you can burn yourself out easily for it. Don't sacrifice your own happiness for your partner's. Rather, you should find a balance, a compromise, that will allow both of you to be happy."

"What do you mean?" Light asked.

"For an example, working on Paradise is not something I personally particularly enjoy," Hubert admitted. "There is a tedium and a doldrum in several areas of it, as it's more than just planning and working out where certain facilities will be placed. There's peacekeeping, ensuring that all supplies are distributed evenly, trading with other towns or villages, and many other things that we have to do that I am not too keen on. Especially after we gained Post Town and Paradise merged with it."

Hubert looked back at the snivy. "However, Flynn enjoys the tasks, even the tedious ones, as he knows he's making a difference in the world. And as he is my friend, I desire to help him as well. So we compromise. I enjoy adventuring in this world, going from dungeon to dungeon and testing my strength against many foes. There's a thrill to it that I don't get in many other occasions. And, while I'm out doing missions, I gain precious materials that are needed for Paradise to operate. So therefore, I can help Flynn with what he loves while doing what I love."

Hubert finally backed off and walked back to his teammates. "But I've prattled on long enough. You have something you wished from me and it's about time I accomplish that. You will find Hydreigon in Swanna's Place out in the commerce area. Just follow the path straight leading out from Paradise and you should find it. He seems to have known you would be coming."

"Alright…thanks," Light said.

"I could have told them that," Emolga stated.

"Yes, and I apologize for the delay," Hubert said. "But I had my reasons."

"Well thanks anyways!" Fennix said. She turned to her Partner. "Alright, Light, let's go!"

"Y-yeah, sure," Light said. Though he had to admit, he didn't share her confidence, as his thoughts were more on what Hubert told him.

 _Compromise,_ Light thought as he followed Fennix out of Paradise and on their way to Heidragon. _I wonder…I don't really like what we're doing now. Is there a way for me to compromise at this? I'll…have to think of it._

Hubert watched the two kids walk away, his arms crossed. He stood tall and proud while he watched them go, for as long as he could last. He waited until they rounded the corner and were out of his sight before he finally let the fatigue take hold of him and he fell to the ground. Emolga rolled her eyes and walked up to him, giving him an Elixir to help him restore his energy.

"Admit it, you stopped the fight there because you knew Fennix would beat you," Emolga teased.

"I will admit nothing," Hubert said as he stood up straight again. "I stopped the fight because I felt it unnecessary. I saw what I wanted to see."

"Sure you did," Emolga said in disbelief.

"Which is what?" Flynn asked. "Hydreigon told us that they would be coming and to send them to him. I don't remember anything about fighting."

"Wait, Hydreigon actually asked for them?" Emolga asked. "Then why did you fight them if you knew he was looking for them too?"

"There are two reasons," Hubert said. "First off, it's the fact that Hydreigon asked for them. Why would the Voice of Life be interested in two random kids? He may be eccentric at times, but I'd imagine that he has better things to do then talk to them. Once they mentioned the Expedition Society, though, it made sense."

"The Expedition Society?" Flynn asked, his eyes closed as he racked his brains for what that means. "I didn't give it much thought when they said it but that sounds…familiar."

"It should," Hubert said. "It was in the newsletter that was sent to use last summer. They were the ones that resolved the previous Pokémon turning to stone crisis. Their investigations revealed that the main cause was an amalgamation of Pokémon's darkness, a creature known as Dark Matter. Once Dark Matter was destroyed, it was also at that moment that everyone who was previously turned to stone gained life again. And while it was considered 'a joint effort by all members of the Expedition Society,' I would be willing to bet both my blades that those two had a strong hand in resolving the conflict."

"Wait…what?!" Flynn asked.

"You understand why I was curious, then," Hubert said. "Two Pokémon who formed a team together, fought an amalgamation of Pokémon's darkness, and the Voice of Life wishes to see them. The parallels are too numerous to be a coincidence."

"And that's why you wanted to fight them?" Emolga asked.

"Exactly," Hubert said. "I wished to test both their strength and their bonds to see how similar they truly are to us. To confirm my suspicions. I find the fact that the fennekin was so willing to battle me in place of her friend, especially after seeing him struggle even with a type disadvantage, to be either the foolhardiest action she could have chosen, or the bravest. Regardless, it's clear by their actions that they both care about each other quite a bit."

"So…which one do you think is…?" Dunsparce asked.

Hubert shook his head. "That, I am not positive on. My first guess was the pikachu. Especially as he has a hand preference, a trait not normally found in most Pokémon. However, the times when he glanced at the fennekin, he looked at her as if she could slip away from his fingers at any time and be no more. That trait would more suggest that she is rather than him. So I can't say for certain."

"Still, either way, I hope the best for them," Flynn said as he looked in the direction they're going.

"Yes, indeed," Hubert said. "They don't walk an easy road. However, I know this as a fact from the fight. If they are willing, they have the strength to see it through to the end."


	9. Meeting the Voice of Life

The area that used to be known as Post Town was rather small compared to what seemed to be the vastness of Paradise. There were a few houses here and there, as this did used to be a town before it joined with Paradise, but for the most part, businesses lined the streets. On the right side this town's Kecleon Market could be found with the town Deposit Box sitting next to him, as per usual. Across from it sat Team Rebirth's destination, the largest building in the town, Swanna's Place which served as both an inn and bar. On the other side of town there was a rampardos shaped building and a minccino shaped building, though both were unoccupied at the moment. In the center was a cobblestone square where many Pokémon chatted amongst each other, like a lilipup, timburr, and roggenrola.

"Wow, that pond," Fennix said, focusing on none of the things Light first noticed, instead her eyes on the water on their right. "Oh, and it has a small waterfall too. I wonder what's up there?"

"Uhh, Fennix?" Light said. "You do realize…?"

"Yeah, I know," Fennix said. "We need to go see Hydreigon. Can't help but be curious, though."

"I hope he's able to help us," Light said as the two continued towards Swanna's Place. "I mean, he might be a Voice of Life and all, but that doesn't mean he knows about how this world looks."

"Know any other super ancient Pokémon that can help us?" Fennix asked. "Aside from Xerneas?"

"Well we're technically asking a part of Xerneas," Light said. "But you're right. We don't know where exactly too look. The part of the land that the Mist Continent and Water Continent used to be together is probably huge. We could search for ages on both sides and get nowhere. This Hydreigon is our best bet."

So the duo entered Swanna's Place. It was similar enough to Kangaskhan's Café that they were both familiar with what they saw, wooden chairs and tables everywhere that various Pokémon sat down in and a counter with a Pokémon on the other side, likely the Swanna that owns the place. Next to that counter, though, was a staircase that likely lead to the inn portion. The walls and floors were all made of wood as well with minimal decoration on them.

As soon as he walked in, Light looked around to see if he could find the Hydreigon they were looking for. He thought it would be difficult, as there were about a dozen Pokémon seated in the café, but he quickly figured out which one was Hydreigon. A large Pokémon with a black body and three blue heads, two of them taking the place of arms, seated near the far left corner of the café, looked at both him and Fennix as they walked in. And unlike the other patrons, who glanced at the two kids before going about their business, this Pokémon kept his eyes on them for a few more seconds.

"T-think that's who we're looking for?" Light whispered to Fennix for confirmation.

"Hydreigon is part of the deino line, right?" Fennix asked, whispering back.

"Yeah, it is," Light said, confirming his thoughts.

"Well that sure looks like something a deino could transform into," Fennix continued. "So I think its him."

"Joy," Light said. He gulped and steeled himself. "Alright…let's go talk to him."

So the two walked up to the intimidating Pokémon. Light tried to gauge his reaction to them as he walked up, but the Pokémon was giving nothing away in his expression as he looked at them. So all Light could do was hope that he wasn't as stern as the Pokémon this Voice of Life chose suggests.

Once the two got close enough to him, the Voice of Life final spoke. "Oh hey, it's great to see you guys again!" Hydreigon said in such a cheerful and upbeat voice that Light's mouth dropped upon hearing it. "It's been such a long time! How have you two been?"

Light and Fennix both glanced at each other just to be sure they both heard right and weren't going insane. Both of them had their mouths open and surprise evident on their faces. Light was so surprised that he was struck speechless, and he could guess by the fact that Fennix didn't say anything either that it was mutual between them.

"What, don't you remember me?" Hydreigon asked.

"N-no, should we," Light managed to finally squeak out.

"I guess I shouldn't have expected it," Hydreigon said. "You two aren't the human and Mew I used to know."

Light and Fennix both took a step back from that. "Y-you know who we were?!" Fennix asked.

"Yes, I do, but such talk is better suited for someplace with less noise," Hydreigon said. He looked over to the Pokémon on the counter. "Swanna, dear, do you have a room open that I may speak to these two young Pokémon privately?!"

"Hydreigon, please don't call me 'dear'!" Swanna yelled back. "And yes, we do! Third floor, second door on the right! Make sure the place is as you found it or I'm charging you!"

"Thank you, my good ma'am!" Hydreigon said back. He turned his attention back to Light and Fennix. "Follow me. We have much we need to discuss."

Hydreigon left his seat and flew to the staircase on the right side of the counter. Light and Fennix were both still a little stunned at the Hydreigon's disposition being the opposite of what he looked, but they managed to stagger behind him. They followed him up the steps and into the higher floors of the building.

"So how come you're able to just use a room like this?" Fennix asked as they walked.

"Some Pokémon use Swanna's Place for business meetings," Hydreigon explained. "I'm also friends with the owners."

"Alright," Fennix said.

A few seconds later, they reached the room Swanna let them in. It was a simple room with only a table with a single chair and a straw bed, but it did have nice view of the hilltop outside including the pond. It was scenic, if not luxurious, and did make for a good meeting place.

"So, you wanted to talk to us?" Light asked when the trio got settled in. "Because we wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, really?" Hydreigon asked with a smile on his face. "Well, isn't that convenient. What did you want to know about?"

"W-well…" Fennix said. The fennekin explained to the Voice of Life exactly why the two were there.

"The Pokémon who gave you the Harmony Scarves…hmm…" Hydreigon mused.

"Yeah, that's who were searching for," Light said. "Whoever they are, they've been giving us a bunch of clues to follow. And the currently clue involves someplace where 'Water and Mist were once one' or something like that. Do you know anything about that?"

Fennix took a step back. "Wait, before that! Were you one of our old allies? Because you sounded like you knew us."

"If you're talking about the Pokémon I think you're talking about, then no," Hydreigon said. "As a Voice of Life, I am directly tied to the Tree of Life. When Dark Matter sapped the vitality of the Tree of Life, I wasn't able to exist in this world. I was only brought in when the planets align and Dark Matter's power momentarily waned, as that weakening allowed I and the rest of the Voices of Life to be able to come back."

"So you only fought with us after the fact," Light said.

"Well…I also helped with the reconstruction!" Hydreigon said. "Oh, and I helped bring you two as you are now! I'd say I was very helpful in the ancient past!"

 _I…wasn't exactly doubting how 'helpful' or otherwise you were,_ Light thought. Though one point Hydreigon said did stick with him.

"Wait, helped bring us here?" Light asked.

"Yes," Hydreigon said. "When Mew and the human decided to release their memories, and go into the future where they can vanquish Dark Matter for good, they couldn't do it alone. Mew, for all his power, couldn't just send his soul to be reincarnated thousands of years into the future. And he certainly couldn't send a human to the future either. Crossing the many generations of time is difficult for those with no temporal power anyways, but is even more difficult with the form changes you two went through. Therefore, you needed help."

"So, you helped us?" Fennix asked.

"Well…" Hydreigon gave a nervous chuckle. "It was a joint effort between Xerneas and all the Voices of Life at the time. So I was…a part of it."

 _This guy is seriously a Voice of Life,_ Light thought, still flabbergasted by the Dragon/Dark-type's behavior. _I mean, if Fennix could have once been a Mythical Pokémon, I shouldn't be too surprised but…he acts nothing like Xerneas._

"Light, having already chosen to live in this world and help Mew in the future, was sent back home momentarily to say his goodbyes," Hydreigon explained. "Once he was brought back in this world, the two of you came to the Tree of Life. You two chose the forms you would appear as in this time and were sent there by two different processes. One that would allow Mew to become a newborn fennekin and the other that turned Light into the young pikachu we know him as today. And that is what brings us to the present day. It was of these facts that I one day wished to inform you two."

 _So, that's how we came to be,_ Light thought. He couldn't deny to himself that what Hydreigon said resonated with his mind. It was like something clicked and he had no doubts that everything said there was true.

"Well, thanks for your part in making us who we are today, anyways," Light said, deciding to throw the Voice of Life a bone.

"But our old friends!" Fennix said, getting back to the point she was interested in at the moment. "Do you know who they are?!"

"Ahh yes, I can imagine why you'd want to know," Hydreigon said. "Ahh, the things you all did! The adventures you had! I'd love to tell you all those stories. But you're on a scavenger hunt, right? To find the Pokémon who gave you those scarves? I wouldn't want to rob you of a massive adventure like this!"

 _Thanks,_ Light thought, sarcastically at first before realizing that he didn't want this Pokémon to reveal everything to him. At least, not right away.

"But can you at least help us with our current clue?" Light asked.

"Yes, I can indeed, as I am the Voice of Life for the Mist Continent and, when the Mist and Water Continent were together, I was the Voice of Life for both," the Voice of Life said. "That, and I know about Light's first task. I assume you two have a map?"

"Yes, we do," Light said. He pulled out his Expedition Gadget and showed their current world map they had.

"Light's first task back in the ancient past was to help out a dying town in the middle of the continent," Hydreigon said. "It was a land-locked town near infertile soil with constant earthquakes and was dying. As such, if nothing changed, Dark Matter would have had a hold on an entire town. So Mew and the Human were sent there to try and fix this and bring the town back from the brink."

"We…were?" Light asked. "That sounds…"

"Kinda impossible," Fennix finished for him. "What were we supposed to do? I mean, maybe things were different back then, but I can't imagine how we'd do something like that now."

"I believe I heard that the Legendary Pokémon didn't expect you to," Hydreigon explained. "It was difficult task, one made to test Light's compassion and patience. What nobody expected was for you two to come back successful, and with another ally. Though in a way, it was useless."

"Useless?" Light asked.

"In this tongue, it would be called 'Village of Brown Fields'," Hydreigon said. "Though the name would slightly change as the language did, no such village exists in this world anymore. Now, before you worry, your actions in the past did help. It allows the village to last another 200 years when it wouldn't have lasted past the war against Dark Matter normally. But the village did pass away eventually. And it did so peacefully, as most villagers agreed to move on. The great fissure that split the Mist and Water Continents, which ripped through the center of the village, didn't occur until later."

"I'm…glad to hear it?" Light said, unsure of how he felt on that information. It was interesting to hear, but Light had to admit that it didn't help his and Fennix's current situation.

"So we came back with an ally?" Fennix asked. "That's who we're searching for?"

"Yes, indeed!" Hydreigon said. "Now, as for the location of where the Village of Brown Fields was. The village itself doesn't exist anymore, nor does the land it was on exist. However, I can tell you around where it would be." The Dark/Dragon-type pointed his right mouth on a spot of water in the middle between the Water and Mist Continents east of Noe Town. "I believe if you look around this location, you should find a Mystery Dungeon that will take you down some ways to the sea floor. If there are any remnants remaining of the village, you will find it there. Even under water, Mystery Dungeons tend to have the power to preserve things in time."

"A-an underwater dungeon?" Fennix asked, taking steps back in nervousness as she did.

"Yep, this should be fun," Light said sarcastically. "I apparently can't get enough of water today."

"Ahh, but you shouldn't worry," Hydreigon said. "You should ask my friends in Team Leaf Blade for help. They are quite powerful and I'm sure they'll be able to assist you in reaching the end."

"Team Leaf Blade?" Light asked. "I-I mean, I sort of wouldn't mind. I know first-hand how powerful Hubert is, and Flynn's a Grass-type. But…I'd rather not exactly explain about our past and origins and things to them. Assuming they'd believe us in the first place. I know if somebody told me they were a Mythical Pokémon and Human from thousands of years ago, I wouldn't believe them."

"I'm sure you'll find that the two of them are quite more open-minded then you would think, quite more indeed, but I can understand the hesitation," Hydreigon said. "You two come with very unbelievable histories, even more so then some Pokémon I know. If it'll help, I'll help you guys explain it to them without going into who you were. I still think they'd be understanding, but if that's what you want."

Light looked away, still hesitant about the idea. However, before he came to a decision, Fennix said cheerfully, "Sure, we'd be glad to have some help!"

 _Well, guess that decides it,_ Light thought, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"Alright then!" Hydreigon said cheerfully. "Let's head back to Paradise at once!"


	10. Gate through the Water

After Hydreigon helped get Hubert and Flynn to join Light and Fennix on their next exploration, the four of them walked back to Noe Town to take the Lapras Liner to the place where the water dungeon was located. Light sat around Lapras's neck, navigating with the map as usual, and Fennix was on the back side of Lapras's shell, watching as Noe Town became smaller and smaller on the horizon. Hubert stood in the middle of the group, not focused on anything particular while Flynn was right next to Light, fascinated by the gadget in his paw.

"So, that's the Expedition Gadget I've heard so much about," Flynn said. "It's a really cool piece of technology."

"Yeah, it really helps out a lot," Light said. "It's got our map, displays information from our Connection Orb, we can put a reminder at what mission we're on in this, and even can be used to take notes."

"I wouldn't mind getting something like this," Flynn said. "Since we own Paradise Town, we've also got a Connection Orb, we have our Wonder Map if the Mist Continent, and Hubert keeps a notebook in his bag, but it'd be nice to have all of that in one place."

"We'd help, but we honestly have no idea how it works!" Fennix said. "Jarachi would be the one to ask. He made everything."

"Well, since you're looking, how close are we to our destination?" Hubert asked.

"We're getting close," Light said. "We should get there pretty soon."

"Great, and then we have to deal with an underwater dungeon," Fennix groaned. "Oh boy."

Light scoffed. "Says the fennekin who jumped in a whirlpool to take two Razor Shells for me. Didn't seem too afraid of water then."

"W-well, I wasn't thinking back then!" Fennix said. "Besides, did you want to get knocked out by Hubert's weird attack? Because that's what would've happened!"

"And I'm grateful for that," Light said. "My point still stands."

Flynn looked between Light and Fennix. "H-hey, you two don't need to fight about i—"

"We're not fighting," Fennix said. "Not even close. Light's just being a jerk, as usual."

Light chuckled. _Sorry Fennix, but you're just so fun to tease sometimes._

"Nah, I know exactly why she doesn't like underwater dungeons," Light said. "And I honestly can't blame her."

"Yes, I can imagine the difficulty a Fire-type like Fennix would have in a dungeon filled with nothing but water," Hubert said. "Though we do have an…unfortunate lack of Fire-types working for us, I can still imagine how the few we do have would react to being sent someplace like that."

"Nah, it's not even that," Fennix said. "I mean, it is sorta like that, but there's something even worse."

"I…beg your pardon?" Hubert asked.

"Have you never been to an underwater dungeon before?" Light asked.

Flynn answered. "No, we haven't," the snivy said. "But we do most of our adventuring around the Mist Continent. We don't like to go too far unless it's necessary."

"Then you're in for a treat," Light said sarcastically. "If you're going to end up in an underwater dungeon, hope like heck you can enter it from a cave or something. Diving right in from the ocean's surface is an…experience."

"I feel I should hesitate to ask this, but what do you mean by 'experience'," Hubert asked.

"Basically, you know that weird Surf/Water Pulse combination you did on me?" Light asked.

"The beginning part of my Mystic Arte, yes," Hubert said.

"I'd almost rather go through that again then go into an underwater dungeon," Light continued. "At least it was mercifully short."

"That's an…interesting amount of vitriol you feel for that style of dungeon," Hubert said.

"You'll see when we get there," Light said.

"To think, despite both your resignations, you're both still willing to go through that for a tablet you only 'might' get," Hubert said.

"Well, Hydreigon seemed pretty sure that it would be here," Light said. "Not like we've got any other place to look either, at least for now."

"I've never been a fan of fighting for uncertainties or 'maybe', but if you can do so with a clear conscious, then that's your choice," Hubert said. "We'll assist you in finding it as best as we can anyways. We can at least lessen the difficulty, regardless of whether it's fruitful or not."

"Thanks, you guys," Fennix said.

"It's no problem," Flynn responded cheerfully. "Happy to help!"

He looked at his Expedition Gadget. "We should be pretty soon. We're a few seconds away guys, so get ready whatever you need."

Fennix took a deep breath before she walked to the front of Lapras where Light and Flynn were. "A-alright, I'm ready," she said.

Hubert crossed his arms. "You don't look particularly ready," he said.

Fennix closed her eyes and stood in a strong stance. Opening them back up, a fierce gaze of determination spread across her face. "I've got Light and Team Leaf Blade next to me. Plus, I need to find that tablet! I'm ready!"

Light smiled as he watched her. _One thing I love about you, Fennix, when it comes time to get serious, you're more determined than any Pokémon I know._

"This is the place, right?" Lapras asked.

Light looked at his gadget one last time, as there were no convenient landmarks around the ocean for him to view, and saw that they were indeed in the area Hydreigon marked. So he told Lapras so and she stopped her surf through the water. With them in position, both Light and Fennix took long, deep breaths as they eyed the water's surface, the sun reflecting off of it.

"You guys might want to take a deep breath too," Light said. "And prepare to hold it." That was the last thing he said before both him and Fennix jumped into the water.

Normally, they'd both be able to float in water just fine, as both knew how to swim. However, when both their bodies became enveloped in the cool spray of the ocean around them, they were unable to go back up. It was like a mysterious force pushed them down further and further underwater, a current that was impossible to break. Until they reached the pocket of air that all underwater dungeons had, they were forced to hold their breath and go with the flow deeper and deeper under the water.

Light hated the experience, and he knew Fennix did too. The fact that the current never let anyone back up meant that one had to be calm and hold their breath for as long as possible as they are pulled down. However, the tiniest bit of fear or panicking for air, which was quite easy to do as one was helpless to the forces that pushed them lower, would cause one to sputter out all the air they held in and feel like they were drowning until they reached the pocket of air. Which naturally happened to both the kids their first time diving. Light hadn't heard of anyone dying on the way to an underwater dungeon, but he could imagine it happening easily.

After what felt like minutes, though, Light fell down as though gravity was taking hold of him instead of a current and he touched something solid beneath the water's surface, signaling that he was in the dungeon. With that, he opened his mouth and took desperate gulps of air, filling his lungs once again. Once stable again, Light looked around the immediate area for his partner, and quickly found her doing the same thing he once was, her fur soaked and dripping. Light quickly walked up to her and placed a paw on her to tell her that he was there.

"I…hate…this…so…much," Fennix panted out.

"Welcome to the club," Light responded.

"H-Hubert…and Flynn?" Fennix asked.

Light looked around the area to see if he could answer Fennix's question. The dungeon they were in had white water beneath them and surround them was blue craggy rocks with green seaweed peeking out. It was a very bright dungeon, as there was nothing stopping the sunlight above the water's surface from reaching them. Light, seeing that Hubert and Flynn weren't already in the dungeon, kept his eyes up there to see if he could find the duo.

Eventually he saw them, Hubert and Flynn. Hubert was surprisingly prepared for the sudden drop, as he was diving with his eyes open and with Flynn held in his right arm. He extended his left arm before he fell to the ground, managing to completely stick the landing. Once the dewott was on the ground, he let the snivy go.

"Well, I will certainly agree that wasn't a usual experience," the dewott said when he locked eyes with Light.

"How in the world did you…?" Light began.

"Several reasons, chief among them being my Water typing," Hubert said. "Flynn, on the other hand, did not find this to be anywhere close to a pleasant experience."

"I-it's over now, right?" Flynn asked, the tone of his voice sounding like he was trying to avoid losing his lunch.

"Yes, we have successfully entered the dungeon," Hubert said. "You may relax now."

"Thank Arceus," Flynn said. The snivy eventually got up and looked around the place. His eyes opened up in awe at what he saw. "So, this is what being under the sea looks like."

Hubert adjusted his glasses. "Yes, I imagine you're typical gilled Water-type sees something like this every day. It seems special to us only because we are not accustomed to this kind of scenery. But to an ocean dweller, they would find this type of scenery to be blasé and find the world we live in to be much more of note. It's all a matter of perspective."

"Doesn't make it any less amazing to me," Flynn said.

"I don't mean to denote the experience, I'm just mentioning the fact that, while we see beauty, those who live here see normality. Another perspective to think about."

While Hubert and Flynn were having their discussion, Light turned his attention to his partner. She had gotten back on her paws, but one glance at her face told Light that she still wasn't really at 100%. If Light had to guess anything, the dripping water probably wasn't helping any in that regard. Being with Fennix for a while, he knew that it was bad for Fire-types to get cold.

"Got any way to warm up?" Light asked his partner.

"I-I'm gonna try giving off a Heat Wave," Fennix said. "Even a weak one should still warm me up."

"Alright, go ahead," Light said. The pikachu looked over at Hubert and Flynn, who seemed to be done with their conversation, and called out to them. "Fennix is going to use Heat Wave. It won't do anything to any of us, except maybe warm us up, but it might get some enemies' attention. So be ready for a fight."

"Understood," Hubert said.

Fennix closed her eyes and began to generate heat all around her. That heat swirled around and around until it became a thick cloud of red. Once that happened, Fennix opened her eyes back up and blasted that heat all around the room. To Light, Hubert, and Flynn, it felt like a warm blast of air passed them, nothing too big even if they were in a desert, and felt nice after going through the cold water. To their enemies, it felt like getting hit by a wave of fire.

"Feeling better now?" Light asked.

"Y-yeah, a bit," Fennix said. Light could at least see that her fur coat was dry and she didn't look as sick either.

"Good, because I sense enemies approaching already," Hubert said.

Hubert looked at a hallway to his left and Light, being curious, walked over to him to look as well. As he suggested, three Pokémon were already approaching their location, all of them mad from being hit by Fennix's attack. One was an Alomomola, another a Palpitoad, and finally there was a female pink Frillish. Light clenched his paws and got in a battle stance, getting ready to fight.

"Stay back and let us handle this," Light commanded Fennix. "You still need a few seconds to recover."

"A-alright," Fennix agreed.

"I heavily doubt we'll need even you," Hubert said. "No offence. These Pokémon are a trifle to us. Flynn?"

"Yeah, on it," Flynn said.

Flynn jumped into the air and several leaves began surrounding him in a swirl of a storm. He launched those leaves at the three Pokémon, trapping them in a storm of leaves. That wasn't all that team Leaf Blade had to offer for that attack, though, as Hubert launched an Ice Beam straight at the Leaf Storm. The combined attacks created a ball of ice that froze the three Pokémon, the frozen leaves surrounding the outside.

"Frozen Petals!" Hubert and Flynn both yelled in sync with each other once the Ice Beam hit.

"W-wow, that was amazing!" Fennix said. "Oh man, do I wish we had something that awesome!"

Light was less concerned with the spectacle and more concerned with the snivy. "Flynn, are you ok?" Light asked. "Doesn't Leaf Storm…?"

"Lower my Special Attack?" Flynn finished. "Normally, yeah. But not with this!" Flynn pointed his left leafy arm at the twisted band on his right leafy arm. "This Twist Band means I can use Leaf Storm whenever I want without having to worry about its downside. It's pretty neat."

"We should probably work on leaving the vicinity," Hubert said. "I would give my guarantee that we will inevitably face more opponents looking for the source of your friend's attack, and it's best not to be around when they do so. That, and our current adversaries won't stay in their frozen prison forever."

"Yeah, let's go," Light said. He looked towards his partner. "Fennix, you up for it?"

"I'll be fine, Light," Fennix promised.

"Then I'll take point, if you don't mind," Hubert said. "Light, you can follow behind me, Fennix behind you, and Flynn can take the rear. That way those who are resistant to water attacks are surrounding those who aren't."

"That's…a really good idea, actually," Light admitted.

The four of them got in formation as Hubert suggested and left the area they entered the dungeon from. Hubert's suggestion was a good one as they walked through the dungeon, as any wild Pokémon that tried to attack from either their front or side found their attacks blocked by the Water-type and Grass-type. If the Pokémon attacked from close-range, Hubert would use his scalchop blades in a single-stroak Cut attack while Light slammed into them with Thunderpunch. If they attacked from long-range, Fennix and Flynn would respond with a Psybeam and Leaf Storm respectively. This allowed the crew to easily take care of any Pokémon that came their way. While they were fighting, though, Light noticed something odd about how Hubert fought. So he waited for a break in the action to ask.

"Hey Hubert, do you mind if I ask a question?" Light asked.

"You already did," Hubert responded. "I wasn't too particularly annoyed when you did so."

"Touché," Light chuckled. Though he quickly went on to the question he wanted to ask. "When we're fighting enemy Pokémon, you're not fighting them the same way you fought me. Why is that?"

Hubert paused his walk a few seconds to think before continuing. "It's actually quite simple, but I don't begrudge you for questioning that." Hubert grabbed his scalchops and looked at them. "What you saw me using when I fought you were modified moves I like to call Artes. I take a simple move, like my dual Razor Blades, and modify them based on the techniques I've heard about from legendary swordsmen across the ages. I'm still essentially using either Cut or Razor Shell, I'm just using them in techniques called Sword Rain or Double Wind."

Hubert placed his scalchops back to his side. "As for why I haven't used them in this dungeon, it's due to the exertion such techniques place on my body." Hubert looked at Light. "Think of it like this. If you were to use several Thunderpunches in a row, or if Fennix kept using Psybeam ad nauseam, it would exert its toll on your bodies and you would eventually be fatigued, correct?"

"Well…yeah, I guess," Light said.

"It's all too similar with my Artes," Hubert said. "Though some are easier than others, the less strokes with my blade the better, some do require quite a large amount of energy to use. Especially that combination of several moves that I used. Therefore, using my Artes in dungeons would tire me out too quickly. And in dungeons I tend to have backup anyways, so Artes are unnecessary for the most part."

"Really?" Light asked.

"Indeed. For one-on-one battles, my Artes are a great boon for doing heavy amounts of damage quick and surprising my opponent. But in dungeons, I rarely ever use them. Only if I'm in a precarious position."

"It was actually kinda funny watching him figure all these things out," Flynn chimed in. "Back when we were first adventuring together, back when he was an oshawott, he tried using these Artes to…interesting effects. I still don't know why he thought throwing his scalchop would do anything."

"I was…merely testing my capabilities," Hubert said, his voice actually showing embarrassment. "I wanted to see if I could use that for extra combat options. S-suffice to say…it…did not succeed as intended."

"Still, it's really cool what you can do!" Fennix said. "At least, you are when you're not attacking Light with it. You've got some really awesome and powerful moves!"

"It took some training, but thanks," Hubert said.

"Light, we should learn to do something like that!" Fennix said. "Some sort of super awesome combination attack or something! Something flashy and powerful that will take down our enemies!"

"I'll…think about it," Light said. "For now, we've got other things we need to focus on."

"If you're looking for help in that department, I'm sure I can be of great assistance," Hubert said.

Light paused for a second. "…Why are you so interested in helping us anyways?" the pikachu asked. "I mean, if you're just doing it to be nice, I'm fine with that, but still."

"…I will admit, I do have a certain motivation in my assistance," Hubert admitted. "Not a malicious one, I can assure you, but a motive nonetheless. And it's…the fact that you and your partner fascinate me."

"We…what?" Fennix asked. "'Fascinate you?' What the heck does that mean?"

"You two…remind me of myself and Flynn in some rather interesting ways," Hubert said. "That is where my motivation stems from. That's a similar motivation to the reason I fought you before, only I wanted to establish that connection first."

"'Some…interesting ways'?" Light asked.

"I'll let you figure that one out," Hubert said. "For now, though, do either of you have any idea of how close we are to the object you require?"

Light looked above and around the area. "Hmm…we've been walking for a good long while," he said. "We also haven't seen any enemies since we started talking. We might be close to the end. It's risky, but I think we should start spreading out and searching." Light turned around to face Flynn. "Flynn, can you search with Fennix?"

"Why do I need an escort?" Fennix asked, affronted by the suggestion.

"You're the most vulnerable down here," Light reasoned. "Just because we haven't faced any enemies so far doesn't mean they're all gone. So I'd rather you not be alone against a group of Water-types."

"Do I have to?" Fennix asked.

Light sighed. "Please, Fennix. I really don't want to argue this."

"Fine," Fennix said. "But you owe me."

Light chuckled. "I'll take that if it means you're safe."

"And sure, I'll keep her safe," Flynn said. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

"Well, we're looking for a gray tablet with strange footprint-shaped runes on it," Light said. "If it's in the water, it might be a little more difficult to find. If you can find ruins of a town, that'd be a good place to start. There apparently used to be a town here before a fissure split it apart, and the fact that this place is a Mystery Dungeon might have preserved some of it."

"Yes, because of the strange space/time distortions Mystery Dungeons give off," Hubert said. "I haven't done much research into it myself, but I know some dungeon researchers who have mentioned that once or twice."

"Finding some seafloor rock would also help a lot," Light said. "That way we both know for sure we're at the end of the dungeon and we just have to look on the ground for it."

"Let's look around, then," Flynn said.

"If I'm wrong, though, yell if you see any enemies," Light said. "That'll tell us we're not actually at the end."

So the team split off in different directions, Light and Hubert going separate while Flynn and Fennix walked together. While he was walking, Light prayed to Arceus that Fennix would be fine. Hubert and Flynn brought their own supplies and the pikachu still had his, so they'd be able to heal any injury the fennekin got from the Water-types here, and they didn't seem too strong from the attacks that hit Hubert or Flynn, but Light didn't trust his luck. Still, he ignored his fear and pushed on, knowing if he found the tablet they'd be able to leave fast enough.

"I have found some rock!" Hubert yelled from somewhere to Light's right. "And I believe I see some wooden planks not too far from here!"

"Coming!" Light yelled. "Fennix! Flynn! Did you hear him?!"

"Yeah, we did!" Fennix's voice came from somewhere ahead of Light. "We're heading there right now!"

Light sighed with relief. "That's good," he said to himself. "Fennix sounds like she's close. Well, at least I know that she saf—"

Light felt a hard slam into the back of his head, causing his vision to go blank before he fell face-first on the ground, his consciousness faded away.


	11. Ghosts of the Past

Fennix and Flynn had no problems meeting up with Hubert on the solid gray rock of the sea floor. There, they waited for Light to join them. However, as the seconds passed and lead into minutes, Fennix stepped forward, worry on her face as she couldn't see her friend anywhere.

"Hmm…Light does seem to be taking his time," Hubert said.

"He didn't sound like he was that far away when we last heard him," Flynn said. "What's taking him so long?"

"…I'm going back to find him," Fennix said, already beginning to walk in that direction.

"Are you sure about that?" Flynn asked. "Shouldn't we wait a bit longer for him. And if we leave now, we might lose this place."

"No, I won't!" Fennix said. "Light should be here right now. So I'm going to make sure he's alright! If you want to stay, that's fine, but I'm going!"

"Then we should quickly move," Hubert said, stepping out in front of Fennix. "I imagine whatever stopped Light isn't going to just wait for us to come to it. We need to get the jump on it before it's too late. Follow me. I know the direction of where Light's voice last came from and should be able to guide us there."

"On it!" Fennix said.

So Hubert quickly ran, both his paws on his scalchops ready to use them at any time. Fennix and Flynn quickly followed behind, Fennix a bit off to Hubert's side just in case she needed to use some sort of long-ranged attack. They ran in a frenzy, going as fast as they could, adrenaline pumping through their veins, until they finally made it to the area where Light was.

"Halt!" Hubert commanded in a hushed whisper. "We've got company!"

Fennix looked past him and saw that Light was floating on his back in the water, his eyes closed. Surrounding him was about half-a-dozen Pokémon, four of them frillish, two pink and two blue, one was a trevenant, the final one a Pokémon Fennix didn't recognize that looked like an anchor with seaweed on it.

Hubert crossed his arms. "A group of…ghosts, I think," he said. "Though I don't recognize most of them."

"G-ghosts?!" Fennix asked, her body shaking from fear.

"That would be my guess, anyways," Hubert said. "I'm not sure about the anchor Pokémon yet, but the rest of the group are all Ghost-type, so I would imagine it is as well."

"T-they're trying to take Light away with them!" Fennix said. She jumped ahead of Hubert and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Give me back my friend you jerks!"

Fennix fired off a Solarbeam into the crowd, one she had been charging since she saw the crowd. The frillish all scattered at the attack while the anchor Pokémon and the trevenant just stood there and took the blow. This did, at least, have the effect of getting all six wild Pokémon to take their attention away from the pikachu and towards the rest of the group.

"Hmm…I suspect that anchor-like Pokémon has some sort of resistance to Grass-type moves," Hubert said. "Either Steel or Grass would be likely considering its design. Add Ghost onto that considering the rest of the crew."

"What do I care?" Fennix asked.

"You should," Hubert said. "Whichever typing it has, it makes it critically weak to something you specialize in."

Fennix realized exactly what Hubert was suggesting at those words. So she immediately charged at the trevenant and the anchor-like Pokémon, powerful flames wreathing around her that weren't subdued by the water beneath her paws at all. With her Flame Charge, she jumped and slammed into the anchor-like Pokémon, knocking it back. This also scared the trevenant, which allowed her to run up to Light.

"Light! Light! Are you ok?!" Fennix yelled as she shook her friend, her focus only on him.

"Watch out!" Hubert's voice rang out, causing Fennix to realize that the battle wasn't over yet. The frillish were back, surrounding her, and all firing Water Gun at her at the same time. Fennix, paralyzed in fear at the ghosts that surrounded her, buried her face in Light's wet fur and waited for the blow to come. However, the blow never came, and instead she felt a wind surrounding her. When Fennix looked, she saw Flynn and Hubert, his scalchops out, next to her, Flynn using his Leaf Storm attack to deflect the Water Guns.

"T-thanks guys," Fennix said.

"What happened you your Protect attack?" Flynn asked.

"I…I…panicked!" Fennix said. "They suddenly appeared, and I wasn't thinking, and I really don't like ghosts, and Light's lying in the water like this, and…"

"Calm yourself," Hubert said. "Your concern for your friend is admirable, but we can't do a thing about his condition until this fight is over."

"Y-you're right," Fennix said. She took a quick breath to steady herself. "Sorry. What should we do?"

"While I don't doubt that we are more than capable of taking them on, I'd rather Light not take more damage in the crossfire," Hubert said. "We should focus on escape more than the fight."

Hubert pointed his right paw to Fennix's left. "We need to clear ourselves a path that way, pass those frillish. A Solarbeam should suffice in scaring them enough to allow us passage. Once that happens, I'll grab Light and we run."

"A Solarbeam takes time to charge up," Fennix reminded him. "And I don't think we've got a lot of time before they attack again."

"I'll use another Leaf Storm to block their attacks," Flynn said. "I'll try and buy you as much time as I can."

"Alright, thanks," Fennix said.

She looked to the sun and began gathering energy from it. Feeling the heat, the light, the life pouring through her body. The energy swelling up inside her. She focused on nothing but that to charge as fast as possible, trusting her allies to block all the attacks until she was ready. Eventually, the energy she gained reached its peak and she felt so full that she was about to burst.

"Alright, it's ready!" Fennix said, her body glowing with power.

Hubert and Flynn nodded, the dewott grabbing Light while the snivy stopped his Leaf Storm attack to give Fennix the chance to attack. The fennekin launched the large green beam in the direction Hubert told her to, and the attack once again caused the frillish in the line of the blast to scatter. Once the frillish were gone, and Fennix's attack was done, the trio hit the ground running, moving as fast as they could to avoid further attacks. They all made tracks, but one look behind her told Fennix that the enemies weren't planning on giving up.

"They're following us!" Fennix yelled.

"I figured they would do something like that," Hubert said. "Hold Light for me for a few seconds." He placed Light on Fennix's back, causing the fennekin to almost collapse under the sudden weight. Luckily for her, Flynn wrapped his vines around Light and lifted his slightly, lessening the weight Fennix had to carry. "You two move on ahead. I've got a plan."

Though she found it a little more difficult to do with the pikachu on her back, Fennix still kept running as fast as she could, Flynn right behind her. While they were running, Hubert jumped into the air, spinning a little to face the enemy. Once he was high enough, he launched an Ice Beam onto the ground, covering as wide of an area as he could, raising a wall of ice as large as he could. Once he was done with that, he landed back on the ground and rushed over to Fennix and Flynn, grabbing Light once again off Fennix's back.

"I don't know how incorporeal those ghosts are, and have no doubts that they could just go over it, but they were at least startled by the attack, so this should buy us a few seconds," Hubert said quickly. "We should make haste to try and lose them in that span of time."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Fennix said.

The three of them continued to run, ignoring all feelings of exhaustion or exertion, until they finally reached the seafloor area that Hubert found earlier. Once there, they identified a wooden ruin that was large enough for the four of them to hide in. So they ran over to that ruin and quickly ducked behind it. Once there, Hubert dropped Light and scouted from behind.

"Hmm…I think we have successfully lost our pursuers," Hubert said. "We can breathe easier now."

Fennix and Flynn both sighed, both nearly collapsing on the ground where they stood. They were both panting heavily and Fennix's ears were drooping. She could feel her body shaking and shuddering, both from how exhausted and how worried she was. Light was still fast asleep despite all the running and yelling that just happened.

"W-what should we do?" Fennix asked between pants.

"Do you have any medical knowledge?" Hubert asked.

Fennix shook her head. "No. I was never really good at it. Light was the one who learned all that stuff."

Hubert tossed Flynn his bag. "Then Flynn, you'll have to examine him. Try and treat him to the best of your abilities."

"A-alright," the snivy said.

"As for you and I, Fennix, we should start our search for that tablet," Hubert said. "The sooner we can identify whether it's here or not, the better. I would much like to get out of here before our adversaries find us once again."

"I-I want to stay with Light," Fennix said.

"I can imagine you do, however you currently have no purpose there," Hubert said, not holding his words back. "Despite what you may desire, your presence next to Light will not help him. However, if we can get out of her soon, we can get back to Lapras, head to Noe Town, and find him a professional healer."

"…You don't have to be so harsh about it," Fennix said.

"Whatever gets things done," Hubert responded. "I don't mince my words. I believe the truth to be necessary, no matter how harsh. And right now, the truth is that you are more useful searching for that tablet then doing nothing over Light's body. Place your trust in Flynn to stabilize him and let's get searching. The sooner we are starting and no longer arguing about this, the better."

"…" Fennix gave Light a longing glance before looking at Hubert. "F-fine."

"Good. Let us begin then," Hubert said.

Both of them began their search through the waterlogged ruins of the town to see what they could find. It wasn't an easy task, as very little of the ruins resembled a town in any way, shape, or function. There were wooden structures that resembled walls or roofs, but none of them were together and there was nothing house-shaped. And that was for the wood that was structurally sound. Some of it was half-rotted and most of it would likely be rotten or gone if it weren't for the fact that it ended up in a Mystery Dungeon.

"…This is a sobering task," Hubert concluded after a length of silence.

"W-what do you mean?" Fennix asked.

"I don't know the history or anything about this town, but I can at least see it once existed and is no more," Hubert said. "And it ended violently if how chaotic this ruin is to be believed. It…makes me ask questions that I'd rather not."

"What do you mean?" Fennix asked.

"…" Hubert crossed his arms. "How long ago do you think this was a town?"

"Thousands of years ago," Fennix said. "We're not completely sure the exact amount, but we know it's thousands."

"Then when I look at this ruin of a town…I question the worth in what I'm doing," Hubert said. "Will Paradise Town one day becoming nothing more than a wreak at the bottom of the sea, it's wood slowly rotting away? Is all the effort and hard work of my partner and I all for naught? Those are the thoughts that come to me as I look upon this wreak."

"Hubert…" Fennix said sympathetically.

Hubert shook his head. "Think nothing of it, though. You are young and have a lot of life left to live. These thoughts are not for you. Besides, we have a task to complete."

"I think it's worth it," Fennix said.

Hubert stopped for a moment and turned back to look at the fennekin. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"When I first heard of Paradise, I was ecstatic," Fennix said. "The stories of Paradise were amazing. How there was literally nothing but a wasteland and you guys, through all your hard work, turned it into something amazing. Back before I met Light, I always dreamed of making something of my life. I wanted to explore the world. I wanted to see everything I could see and map it all out. But the grownups always told me that I couldn't. That I would never be able to. It always made me sad. But hearing about how you guys made Paradise from nothing always gave me hope that I would be able to explore the world. I didn't give up thanks to you guys. So even if Paradise might someday end up like this town, at least in the now, it gave me hope. So I think that it's worth it to keep building it and keep working on it."

Hubert smiled before turning around, continuing on searching. "…You remind me a lot of Flynn," he said. "He is always idealistic. Believing that everything he does matters. That he can change the world, even if it is set in its ways. I sometimes look at him and consider him to be foolish, and at times he is quite naïve. However, he has created something wonderful despite that. …Keep hold of that idealism. Though I have fallen into cynicism, due to that being the truth I've found, it's Pokémon like you who can change the world. And perhaps you can create a new truth."

"I…try I guess?" Fennix said, not sure how to take that complement. She looked around awkwardly, trying to figure out exactly what the dewott was trying to get across, when she noticed something. There was a gray imprint between a hole in a wall to her left. Her heart leapt and she rushed over there, behind the wall, to see if she was right. And indeed, she was, as on the other side of that rotten wall, was a gray stone tablet with footprint-shaped writing on it.

"I found it!" Fennix yelled.

Hubert walked over and looked at the tablet. "This is what you're searching for? Good, let's return back to Flynn and Light and get out of this dungeon posthaste."

Hubert grabbed the tablet and the two turned around and ran back towards the outcropping they left Flynn and Light on. Once they got there, they saw that Flynn had wrapped a blue bandanna over Light's forehead and was washing his leafy arms in the water beyond the rock. Beyond that, the pikachu was mostly unchanged.

"So, what's the status?" Fennix asked Flynn when they got there.

"I'm…not exactly sure," Flynn admitted. "He was bleeding in the back of his head, but the wound didn't seem that deep. I'm not really sure, though. I didn't want to poke around there too much. He wasn't really bleeding that much either, so I don't think it was that big though. Since we didn't have much to patch the wound with, I soaked a Defense Scarf in Oran Juice and put it on his head. That should be enough until we reach a doctor."

"Has he woken up or anything?" Fennix asked.

"No, and that's the part that worries me," Flynn said. "His heartrate and breathing are normal, so he's still alive. But beyond that, I'm not sure."

"Then we should escape and bring him to Noe Town as soon as phyisically possible," Hubert said. "We have found what we are looking for, so we have no further need to be down here."

"I've got an Escape Orb, so I'll get us out," Fennix said.

While Hubert grabbed Light, Fennix reached into Light's bag to grab out the orb. She held it aloft in the air, and a bright light surrounded the four Pokémon, taking them out of the dungeon.

* * *

As consciousness returned to Light, he felt a dull throbbing in the back of his head. This was the first sensation to reach the pikachu, as his eyes were still closed. When he felt that, his mind questioned why he was feeling that. Once his mind pondered over that question, another question arose, one that caused his eyes to snap open and him to sit up and look at his surroundings.

Light was on a straw bed in a white room. There was not much else to the room from what he could see, not even a table or chairs or anything. All else was a closed cabinet to his right and a window behind him.

To help him gather his bearings, the pikachu turned his head to look outside and see if that helped him figure out where he was. The buildings outside were as white as the room he was in and with no discernable landmarks. However, Light did at least recognize the shape of the buildings as being similar to the ones in Noe Town. However…

"Why am I here?" Light asked himself. "Why Noe Town? Weren't we heading off to the sea?"

It was at that point that the dull throbbing on the back of Light's head became worse. The pikachu instinctively reached up to it, but instead of feeling fur he felt a damp cloth. Tracing it with his paw, Light figured out that the cloth was wrapped around his entire head, and was likely damp from being soaked in Oran juice.

"Ok…I apparently got hit in the head by something?" Light asked. "But what? When? Ugg…I can't remember anything! Why does this keep happening?!" Light closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, Light. Calm down and think. Fennix and I…went to Paradise. Fought against Hubert. Met Hydreigon who told us were to go. Then we were going with him to ask Hubert and Flynn to help us with the underwater dungeon and…"

"Light? Light!"

Light opened his eyes back up again just in time to see a blur of yellow filling his vision before fur collided with him and he was slightly pushed back. Paws were wrapped around him in an awkward hug, as the hugger in question had to lean into Light in order to keep their balance. Light could feel his face heating up, as it didn't take him too long to figure out exactly what Pokémon was hugging him.

"Fennix?" Light asked. "Could you…personal space…please?"

Fennix released Light from her hug, which caused her to fall into Light's lap once she lost balance, before she took a couple of steps to give the pikachu some space. Once he could see the entire body of the fennekin instead of a random patch of fur, Light was able to see what state she was in. Fennix seemed mostly fine, with no marks, missing patches of fur, or anything that suggested she was in a major fight. The only thing Light really noticed about her was some bags under her eyes, suggesting that she was having trouble sleeping.

"What happened?" Light asked. "I remember we were going to the underwater dungeon with Hubert and Flynn, but that's it. How'd I end up knocked out?"

"You really don't remember?" Fennix asked.

"Well, I wouldn't be asking you if I did," Light said, suppressing the desire to roll his eyes.

"We made it through the dungeon and were searching for the tablet when you got attacked," Fennix said. "You were hit in the back of the head by this weird anchor Pokémon thing. And a bunch of ghosts were surrounding you. I-I thought they were trying to take you away with them."

"A bunch of ghosts?!" Light asked. "Are you ok?"

"I-I'm fine," Fennix said. "They're gone now. They're all gone now. They aren't going to take us away or anything."

"And what's this about an anchor Pokémon?"

"I believe I can give you the answer to that inquiry," Hubert said. Light looked past Fennix to see that Hubert and Flynn must have let themselves in while he was talking with Fennix.

Flynn smiled and waved a leafy hand in the air. "Hey, Light!" he said. "Glad to see you're finally up."

"Finally?" Light asked.

Hubert crossed his arms. "You have been in a coma for the past two days," he said. "Though the attack that knocked you out did no permanent damage and even the bleeding was lesser then most head wounds, you were also oxygen deprived and were close to having some of your life energy stolen by those Pokémon."

"Oh…wow," Light said. "It was that bad?"

Hubert shrugged. "It could have been worse," he said. "The ghosts flipped you on your front at some point, so you didn't drown. And had we not found you when we did, you could be in a much worse state then you are now. But, though this information is necessary for your understanding about your current predicament, we have veered off the original topic."

Hubert stepped forward. "I did some research as to the Pokémon in question and learned that it's a Pokémon called Dhelmise, the Sea Creeper Pokémon. I wouldn't feel depressed about getting knocked out by one, as it apparently has the power to knock out a wailord in a single blow, if that is believable. Oddly enough, the anchor itself is not the Pokémon, but the seaweed attached to the anchor. Another oddity about it is its uncommonness in these waters. According to what I found, dhelmise prefers tropical waters over the more frigid climes around here."

"So…" Light recapped, "basically, we got to the dungeon, I was knocked out by this dhelmise thing, and I've been in a coma for a few days. That about what happened?"

"Yeah, basically," Flynn answered.

"S-sorry about that," Light said, unsure of how to really apologize.

"I would recommend apologizing more to your partner then us," Hubert said. "We managed to accomplish what we were looking for. That tablet you're looking for has been obtained. However, she was constantly up and worried about you."

 _Yeah…I kinda figured that one,_ Light thought as he looked over Fennix, seeing the bags under her eyes.

"Why did they attack me in the first place?" Light asked.

"I would not have an answer for that," Hubert said. "They did not intend for your death, otherwise they would have left you face-down in the water. However, they were attempting to steal your life energy away as well. Perhaps they were under the illusion that you belonged with them, though for what reason I cannot fathom."

"Beyond that, this is where we take our leave of you," Hubert said with a bow. "We've accomplished what we set out to help you with. Our presence here no longer serves a purpose."

"Is there any way we can repay you?" Light asked.

Hubert shook his head. "If you really are looking for some sort of repayment, the consider this our repayment for your helping several members of Team Leaf Blade. Beyond that, I had my own reasons for assisting you. Therefore, no repayment is needed."

"But you guys are welcome back at Paradise anytime!" Flynn said. "If you're ever on the Mist Continent and looking for a place to stay, be sure to come back to Paradise!"

With that, and another bow from Flynn, the two Pokémon left. Once they were gone, Light looked at his partner awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what to say in light of knowing what happened and how long he was out. Though eventually, he figured an apology was a good place to start.

"So…sorry about all that," Light said.

"Next time, we stick together," Fennix said. "You don't go alone through dungeons and neither do I. We both go together. Deal?"

"I guess I'd be a massive hypocrite if I said no," Light admitted. "So sure."

"Thanks, Light," Fennix said.

"Now…about that tablet," Light changed the subject. "You guys found it, right? So what does it say?"

"Oh, yeah that's right!" Fennix said. "I'll be right back!"

Fennix quickly ran out of the room, leaving Light to wait for her to come back. It didn't take her that long, though, as she came back only a minute later with Light's bag in her mouth. She dropped the bag in front of Light before reaching in and taking out the stone tablet.

"Here it is!" Fennix said. "The tablet we got from the ruined town underwater."

"And what's it say?" Light asked.

"J-just give me a sec," Fennix said. "I…haven't really translated it yet."

Light had half a mind to tease her about that, but he knew full well the reason why she didn't translate it without even asking. So he instead waited for her to fully read and begin translating the tablet.

"'These are the archives of the one who remembers, the last who knows of the events that happened in the ancient past. This archive is on the first ally of Mew, a pikachu from the Village of Brown Fields, known as…"

"Known as what?" Light asked.

"Wow, this is long," Fennix said. "'The one who made the brown fields grow.'"

"Are you…sure about that?" Light asked.

"That's what it says," Fennix said. "But more importantly…did it say pikachu?!"

Light looked at his yellow paws at the same time that Fennix looked up from what she was reading. An entire unspoken conversation went between the two of them and, though neither said anything, Light knew she was thinking the same thing he was. After a moment of shock, Fennix immediately dived back into reading.

"I'll just call him Pikachu from now on. That thing is a mouthful."

"'Pikachu was born and raised in the Village of Brown Fields as an average villager. Amongst the group there was nothing special about him. His parents worked the field and he himself was an only child. He saw as the town slowly faded away like everyone else, and when he evolved it was his turn to work the fields that barely yielded much crop like everyone else. There was only one thing about him that was different.'

'Unlike the rest of the villagers who were sick of trying to cultivate the land, sick of trying to grow anything, and were ready to give up, he refused to. He was a determined lad, hoping to bring his village back from the brink through any means he could. To that end, even when the fields yielded less and less crops each year, he continued working his hardest. It was this passion and zeal that made him be the one who met with the human and Mew when they started their first task.'

'It was his gratitude to the land that also allowed his village to once again flourish. Mew, with his knowledge of where various Mythical Pokémon were, brought him to a village of shaymin that once existed northwest of his hometown and he appealed to the shaymin there. That appeal allowed the shaymin to bring life back to the Village of Brown fields and allowed it to grow crops in greater numbers. Pikachu ultimately saved his village."

'The human formed a strong bond with Pikachu and, after his first task was complete, the human asked Pikachu to join their group. Mew was against the idea at first, but the human pointed towards Pikachu's nature of refusing the darkness as an appeal to join. As such, Pikachu joined the group as the third member and took place in the next task.'"

"Pikachu…huh," Light mumbled through it.

"Know something, Light?" Fennix asked.

"The name…doesn't really click with me," Light said. "It's odd, but what you called him: ''The one who made the brown fields grow' that…doesn't sound right."

"Are you sure?" Fennix asked.

"Yeah, but everything else I feel like is right," Light said. "I can't remember any details, but I can sort of remember him. He…reminds me a bit of you now, actually. He was really passionate, constantly trying to life our spirits. He was also a bit of a joker, constantly making quips with whatever we said." Light chuckled and his cheeks widened in a bright smile. "I think he's the reason I like teasing you so much, since he constantly teased us back in the past."

"Oh, so now I know who to blame for you being a jerk, huh?" Fennix asked, giving a light-hearted chuckle as well.

"Yep, you can blame him," Light said. "But is name…I can't figure out his name!"

"Sorry," Fennix said. "I told you what I told you. Maybe the One who Remembers got it wrong or something?"

"Maybe," Light said. "We'll have to worry about that later. So…is there any clue on that thing for the next place we're supposed to go?" Light asked.

Fennix looked back at the tablet and once again read it. "'You have found the second of your allies, you who holds the spirit of Mew. To find the next one, you must search for a Connection with one of your current friends.' A…connection? What?"

Light thought about it for a couple of seconds. "…Let's wait on that until we're heading back to the Water Continent," he eventually said. "I think I've got an idea, and want to mull through it a bit before saying anything."


	12. Speculation

On the lapras ride back to Lively Town, once Light was free to leave, Fennix got out her Expedition Gadget and was talking to Mawile about the stone tablet she found. However, while they were doing that, Light turned his attention to his own Expedition Gadget, which he placed a Connection Orb in. Fennix glanced at occasionally while she was chatting with Mawile.

"So, your next ally was a pikachu, then?" Mawile asked. "Same as Light."

"Yeah," Fennix said. "Light's pretty sure he's the reason he became a pikachu in the first place."

"Interesting," Mawile said. "I look forward to researching the tablet itself when you two bring it back. But as for this next clue… 'a connection with one of your friends.' That's…quite the interesting clue you were given."

"I think Light might know what it means," Fennix said, her eyes shifting towards her friend. "He's got the Connection Orb in his Gadget and is constantly looking at it."

"Hmm…yeah, I do have an idea," Light said. "But it's just…really odd."

"So, you're thinking what I'm thinking then," Mawile said.

Fennix looked in between her Gadget and Light. "Does somebody want to clue me in on what exactly's going on?" Fennix asked.

"I'll tell you, but I want to ask something first," Light said, walking closer to Fennix and her Gadget. "Mawile. Do different Connection Orbs look different?"

"Ours don't," Fennix pointed out.

"Light is right, though," Mawile confirmed. "I'm sure you both have noticed that neither of you are anywhere on the Connection Orb, no matter how hard you look. That's the same with everyone else who owns a Connection Orb. For example, I can't see myself on mine, Ampharos can't see himself on his, and I'm sure the rest of the Expedition Society would tell you the same thing."

"Why is that?" Fennix asked.

"Because the way the Connection Orb expands is by you making connections with other Pokémon, and those connections in turn allow you to meet even more Pokémon," Mawile said. "It's an ever growing, ever expanding system. However, if it showed every single Pokémon who you've connected with actually being connected with you, the Connection Orb would be an incoherent, muddled mess. So it excludes the users of that Connection Orb within it. Just by the simple fact that it excludes yourselves makes each Connection Orb different depending on who views it."

"So, does that mean you can see us on your Connection Orb?" Fennix asked.

"Yes, I can," Mawile answered. "You two are naturally connected to each other, Light is connected to Deerling, Goomy, the Chief, and Mew. You are connected to Espurr, the Chief, Pancham, Mew, and me. So, as you can imagine, my Connection Orb looks vastly different than yours."

"Why does it only show some Pokémon, but not others?" Fennix asked. "Like, shouldn't me and Light be connected to pretty much everyone in the Expedition Society and our old friends from Serene Village?"

"Basically the same reason as before," Mawile said. "It would cause the Connection Orb to become a cluttered mess if it showed every connection of every Pokémon. Remember, the Connection Orb is used by Pokémon who need to know who knows who for the sake of their duties. Shopkeepers used it to help them decide what to sell to who, we use it to survey who lives where and who do they know, the leaders of the various towns across the world use it to help with town security, you use it to help other Pokémon out, things like that. All those require that the Connection Orb be as streamlined as possible and not be cluttered up with connections. That's why most Pokémon only get four or five others they're connected with at most. And those are usually the strongest connections."

"Anything else we should know about the Connection Orb?" Light asked.

"Some Pokémon might be connected with each other on one device, while not on others," Mawile said. "For example, on my device I see a shaymin connected to a machoak, breloom, lucario, and espeon. I'd imagine you don't see that, do you?"

"N-no, we don't," Fennix said.

"That's because I know and have different connections then you," Mawile said. "And I'm sure there are connections that you have that I don't. It makes looking at another's Connection Orb rather interesting."

"Alright, this is interesting and stuff, but what are you to thinking about?" Fennix asked. "These are kinda odd questions to be asking now."

"I'm trying to figure out who this 'One who Remembers' is," Light said. "This last clue seems very…particular. Like we have to find a connection between one of our friends? That sounds extremely vague. But when I looked in the Connection Orb, not only was I pretty much able to figure out instantly where we need to go next, but I started questioning how that 'One Who Remembers' knew."

"Good, so you're thinking exactly what I'm thinking," Mawile said.

Light nodded, more for Fennix's benefit as he knew Mawile couldn't hear him. "That's why I wanted to know. If I knew more about the Connection Orb, maybe I could figure out who this 'One who Remembers' is."

"What connection are you thinking about, Light?" Mawile asked.

"Well, when I thought about it, I realized that, if I became a pikachu thanks to one of our allies, then it's possible that you became a fennekin thanks to one of our other allies," Light said. "So I thought if I looked for someone in the fennekin line, I might find something. And I did. In our Connection Orb, Deerling is connected to a braixen. So I think we should talk to Deerling about her connection, first, and see where that leads us."

"We're going back to Serene Village again?" Fennix asked, her eyes rolling.

"H-hey, I have a good reason!" Light said.

"Hmm…unfortunately, I can't help you much," Mawile said. "We in the Expedition Society, shopkeepers, and town leaders are usually the only Pokémon who use Connection Orbs. They are commercially available if you're lucky enough to find a Kecleon shop selling one, but they're expensive. More expensive than your average item."

"And Serene Village probably isn't large enough for anyone to have Connection Orbs, right?" Fennix asked. "At least, nobody but Kecleon knew about it when we first asked about the Chief's Connection Orb."

"I'd imagine so," Mawile said. "Maybe your school teachers, but it's unlikely anyone else in Serene Village would have a Connection Orb."

"Clearly the illustrious Vice Principal Watchdog is secretly 'the One who Remembers',' Light joked.

"Oh…Arceus no," Fennix said, her eyes wide in horror. "Anyone but him. Anyone but him. I'd almost rather Pancham be 'the One who Remembers'."

Light chuckled at her reaction. "Nah, don't worry too much about it, Fennix. I doubt it's him. But I still don't know who it is."

"…Do you think it might be one of our old allies?" Fennix asked. "Like, maybe they're somehow still alive even after all this time?"

"If they somehow were, they'd be gone now," Light said sadly. "Remember? They'd be gone for the same reason you disappeared. So it's probably not actually one of our old allies. I think anyways."

"It was just a guess," Fennix said.

"It is a question worth thinking about," Mawile said. "In order for someone to make that clue, they would have to know Deerling's connection to that braixen and your connection to that same braixen in order for the Connection Orb to connect those two together. A very tall order for any Pokémon."

Light thought about it for a few seconds. "…I can't think of any," Light admitted. "The Pokémon that know about Deerling's side of things would probably be her friends and family from Serene Village. I haven't really talked with anyone from there about what we've been doing."

The pikachu looked at Fennix. "Nope, me neither," she said. "We haven't done anything big in the Sand Continent anyways. At least, nothing that big to talk about."

"Perhaps it's a loss to be speculating about that anyways," Mawile said. "I just realized that they would also need to know that the braixen you and Deerling are connected with is the ancestor, or at least somehow knows, of the Pokémon you were once allied with. The One who Remembers might know that your old ally was a braixen, but who is their ancestor is another question entirely. Tracing someone's lineage back so far is a difficult task for most Pokémon. Tracing the lineage of someone who's on an entirely different continent that I doubt many Pokémon from Serene Village would have gone to is something else altogether. Only an adventurer might, and those are in short supply in Serene Village if what Fennix told me is true."

"Nuzleaf might have been to the Sand Continent sometime," Light admitted. "But…the reasons he would have gone there wouldn't have been to research anything. And I…don't think he's this "One who Remembers" anyways."

"You don't?" Fennix asked.

Light shook his head. _Well, it's more like, I don't want to,_ he admitted. _If it was him, I could imagine the reason as to why he got corrupted by Dark Matter. Carrying a legacy like that must be hard work and with lots of pressures. But…he already told me his past and why he was controlled. So I don't want to find out that he was just lying to keep some sort of stupid mystery up._

"He never mentioned it," was all Light said for now. "He also didn't know where the tablet was when we were looking for it. So I don't think it was him."

"It seems at this point that we've reached an impasse," Mawile said. "Guessing won't get us anywhere when there's few to guess at. When you eventually get to Serene Village, you can try taking to Deerling about it. There's a chance if someone knows her connection, that would be the Pokémon you're looking for."

"Yeah, we can try, at least," Fennix said.

"Plus, they're probably going to reveal themselves eventually," Light said. "After all this is said and done. I'm just wondering who they are now."

"So am I," Fennix said.

"As I am also, though likely for different reasons then you two," Mawile said. She chuckled. "One who has a wealth of knowledge of the past as they do would be great to talk to. There is much I could learn of the past from them. And, after we're done examining the treasure from the Gilded Chamber, I would like to return it to its proper owner. And this treasure belongs to 'The One who Remembers' by both Mew's will and inheritance. It's only right it be given to them."

"I didn't think of that," Light admitted. "I honestly forget about it."

Light looked over Lapras's head to see that Lively Town was just on the blue horizon, the buildings inching closer and closer. "Well, we're almost at Lively Town," Light said. "We'll see you in a bit then."

"See you then," Mawile answered.


	13. Field Trip

After dropping off the tablet with Mawile, Light and Fennix walked their way to Serene Village once again to find Deerling. As they walked the road to Serene Village, Light checked his Connection Orb once again, looking at the braixen connected to Deerling. He thought about things while they walked, and eventually decided to voice his thoughts to Fennix.

"Hey Fennix…don't we know a braixen from Sahara Town on the Sand Continent?" Light asked.

"You mean the one who constantly talks about the stick in her tail?" Fennix asked. "Yeah, what about her?"

"I think she's the one who Deerling is connected with," Light said.

"Why would Deerling be connected with someone from Sahara Town?" Fennix asked.

"You'd have to ask her that, not me," Light said. "That's not my problem, though. Do you think we might need to bring Deerling to the Sand Continent to get that braixen to talk to us?"

"Maybe?" Fennix said. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"That's what I'm worried about, then," Light said. "An Expedition to Sahara Town could take somewhere between a couple of days to a week. Deerling has school, and she actually cares about school. I doubt she's going to go off with us."

"It might be close enough to fall break," Fennix mused, looking at the leaves around her. "If it is, we can just bring Deerling during then."

"You have a fall break?" Light asked.

Fennix chuckled. "I forgot you only joined school for a couple of months during the spring semester. Yes, we do have a fall break. I'm not sure when it is this year, but we might be close. So if we're lucky, we can get Deerling out during that time."

Light shrugged. "Sounds good, I guess," Light said. "If we're lucky, anyways."

After a few more minutes, the two made it through the golden arch of Serene Village. It was late afternoon when that happened, so the two knew that school was well and good done and all the students would be out. And they saw that immediately as they reached the town square, as Pancham and Shelmet were playing by the lake.

"Hey you two!" Fennix said as they passed by.

"Oh, it's you two," Pancham said as they passed by. "What are you doing back here?"

"Not happy to see us?" Light asked with a bit of snark in his voice.

"S-sorry, you're right," Pancham said. "It's…great to see you again. But back to what you're doing here…"

"And what's with that headband, Light?" Shelmet asked.

Light instinctively reached up and touched the gauze that kept his wound closed. "…We've been on an Expedition of sort for the past week," he explained. "The headband was just from a small accident. Nothing to worry about. And as for why we're here right now, we need Deerling's help to continue. Do either of you know where she is?"

"She, Espurr, and Goomy are all on the hill with the big tree," Pancham said. "School was a pain today, so the three of them went up there to relax."

"Alright, thanks!" Fennix said happily before running off in that direction.

"So what kind of Expedition are you up to anyways?" Pancham said.

"It's a really long story," Light said. "I'll tell you next time I'm in Serene Village and not busy."

After saying that, Light walked after his partner, catching up to her on the southward path towards the hill with the big tree. They both walked together on the path to the hill, reaching it quickly. And as Pancham said, they found Deerling along with Goomy and Espurr up on that hill.

"Hey Goomy, Deerling, Espurr," Light said as he got close.

Espurr looked back first. "Light and Fennix? What are you two doing back in Serene Village? Again?"

"Deerling, we're here for you, actually," Light said. "We need your help."

"You're going to explain to her about what you're doing, right?" a voice from behind Light and Fennix asked. "Then you can explain it to us as well."

Light turned around to see that Pancham and Shelmet apparently followed them. The two passed Light and Fennix and joined the rest of the school children on the other side of the hill. Pancham crossed his arms, looking at the two expectantly.

"What do you mean?" Fennix asked. "Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity," Pancham said. "You two have been in and out of Serene Village so much over the past couple of days. I can tell you two are up to something. Plus school's been such a boring drag lately that I could use some excitement. Even at your worst, you two do have that."

"I mean…you aren't lying," Light admitted. "I…guess we might as well tell you." So Light and Fennix both explained exactly what they've been doing for the past week.

"So, you're saying that the Pokémon who gave Fennix her Harmony Scarves is calling themselves 'the One who Remembers' and is sending you two on a quest to find your allies in the Ancient Past?" Espurr asked.

"And you need my help for the next clue?" Deerling asked.

"Yeah," Light said. "If I'm right on what the clue means, then the braixen you're…connected with I guess…might be able to help us find the next tablet. So we need you to go with us to Sahara Town on the Sand Continent when you can."

"I'm friends with her…sort of," Deerling said. "She's my pen pal. I've never actually met her before, but we talk a lot through letters. I…guess I don't mind going with you next break, if my parents don't mind. I'd actually like to meet her in person."

Pancham frowned, his arms still crossed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are lying," the Fighting-type said. "I mean, the fact that you two used to be a human and Mew sounds unbelievable in the first place. And now apparently, someone who knows about that past is talking to you guys. Unfortunately, I do know better."

"You don't have to believe us," Light said. "It doesn't matter to me either way."

Pancham shook his head. "I still owe you both," he said. "You're planning on going off with Deerling, right? Then I'm going to! You're taking me on an adventure, Light!"

"If Pancham is going, then I'm going too!" Shelmet said.

"If you've got all of them going with you, then I might as well," Espurr said. "It sounds fun."

"Then I'll go too," Goomy said.

"Really?" Fennix asked. "All of you want to go? Are you sure about that?"

Light crossed his arms. "We're not even positive if what we're looking for is there," Light said. "I'm pretty sure about it, but not positive. So we might be going all that way for nothing."

"Then I'm sure the two of you will find a new location to look," Shelmet said.

"Yeah, you two are annoying persistent like that," Pancham said.

"Our Lapras Liner Passes also aren't enough to take all of us," Light said. "The passes are for the holder of the pass and two other Pokémon. Fennix and I both have one, so we can take four Pokémon. There are five of you."

"Luckily for me, I have my own pass," Espurr said.

Light and Fennix both snapped their head to look at Espurr. "You do?!" they asked at the same time.

"Naturally," Espurr said. "Remember, I helped the Expedition Society. When I was doing that, they gave me passes to all continents and permission from Lapras to use the liner. I can use it at any time, if I want to. So I can take myself."

"…You guys are really determined to go with us, aren't you?" Light asked.

"Alright then!" Fennix said cheerfully. "If you guys want it so much, then I'm fine with that! It'll be fun having another adventure with you guys!"

Light chuckled. "Good luck convincing all your parents about this, but if you can, then I guess I can't complain," Light admitted. "I do miss you all sometimes while out in Lively Town, so it'll be nice to have an adventure together."

* * *

Lapras was none too happy about having seven children on her back. She was able to carry them all just fine, but it was the principle of having so many children unsupervised traveling to a far-away continent. But Light, Fennix, and Espurr all had passes and permission to bring themselves and others and were all trusted by the Expedition Society, so as unhappy with it as she was, she let them all travel.

Light took his place at the head of Lapras, looking over her head in the direction of the destination. Fennix was right next to him. Pancham and Shelmet were on the right side of Lapras's shell, watching her skip across the water. Espurr was on the other side doing the same thing. That left Goomy and Deerling, her coat turned pink from the change in seasons, in the middle of the shell.

"Wow, this is awesome!" Pancham said after a while, just as they passed a few islands. "Man, how did you two get so lucky to see this every day!"

"Not every day," Light corrected. "We do actually have to do some exploring when we get to the continent, which could take a few days depending on where we're going."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Pancham said. "Still cool."

"So, what's the Sand Continent like?" Goomy asked.

"About what you'd expect from a place like that," Fennix said. "Deserts, deserts, and more deserts."

"The Sand Continent is the least developed of the known continents," Light said. "There's only a few towns scattered across the place and there's really not much any of them have that they can sell or trade. And there's no official organization on this continent either, at least as of right now. It'd probably be a continent most Pokémon pass by if it weren't for one thing."

"There's so much to explore!" Fennix said cheerfully.

Light nodded. "Most of the known continents are already pretty well explored. While there are bound to be a hidden dungeon here or there on all the continents, we at least know most of what the land looks like on Water, Air, Grass, and Mist. But due to the endless stretches of desert all over the Sand Continent, there's a lot of unexplored areas to be found and rumors upon rumors of treasure."

At the word 'treasure,' Pancham took his attention away from the waves and placed it on Light and Fennix. "Are there really a lot of treasures around there?" Pancham asked.

Light shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me, but that's just because of how unexplored most areas are," he said. "How much is actually there, we don't know. Might just be the locals playing it up to get more tourism, or there might be some actually amazing treasures around there. Problem is, crossing the desert means going through large periods where you're just crawling through sand with the sun beating down on you and no water in sight. Not only that, but you have to contend with not only the random Mystery Dungeon with Wilds and Grimy Food, but also any treasure hunters that think you're out to get the treasure. If you're going through here, know exactly where you want to go and how to get there, because wandering around here is dangerous."

"I love it!" Fennix said cheerfully. "There's so much mystery surrounding it that there's bound to be tones of great places to explore, just waiting for us to find it! Plus there are plenty of Exploration Teams around and most of them are good-hearted. And it's not like it's that bad that it's a little hot."

"Says the Fire-type," Light said.

"Hey, even I have my limits, and this place isn't even close," Fennix said.

"So what about Sahra Town?" Deerling asked. "What's the place where Braixen lives like?"

"It's sort of outpost for those going into the desert," Light said. "It happens to be an oasis, so they're able to get a lot of water and food there. They then sell that water and food to explorers trading into the desert. For most Pokémon, you're either getting water and berries from the oasis or you're selling those because there's not much else to do out there. Otherwise, it's a trading post for either items or information, depending on who you're asking and what you're looking for. After all, it's a largely unexplored frontier, so there's a lot of trading of information."

"Did Braixen ever mention anything about it?" Fennix asked.

"Not too much," Deerling said. "But then again, she's still a kid. Just about the same age as the rest of us. So we mostly just talk about school and our friends. She mentions the Sand Cotninent every one and a while, but not much details about it."

"She's a kid?!" Light and Fennix both asked.

"Yeah," Deerling said, looking confused at Light and Fennix's surprise. "Why? Did you think I'd be pen pals with a grown-up?"

"Well…no," Light admitted. "I just…she walks around on her own in Sahra Town a lot…and she's evolved so…"

"Don't you remember Nurse Audino's lesson?" Pancham said with a laugh. "Of course she can be evolved and still be a kid! Duh! Evolving doesn't mean you grow older! It's the same as you! You're a pikachu, not a pichu, and still a kid! Geez Light, you can be kinda an idi…"

Pancham stopped for a few seconds with his teasing as he realized something. "Oh yeah…used to be a human," he said, his face lowered in shame. "…Sorry. It's hard to look at you sometimes and think you used to be a human instead of a pichu."

"Doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it," Fennix mumbled, but she kept her words only to Light.

 _I guess I am a little bit of an oddity in this world,_ Light silently admitted to himself. _Even though I know why I'm a pikachu, I'm still in my second evolutionary stage without ever being a pichu._

"Think she'll still be able to tell you what you guys need?" Espurr asked. "Even if she is our age?"

"We can honestly only hope so," Light admitted. "We only picked her since we figured Fennix might've became a fennekin for the same reason I became a pikachu. If it isn't her, then we frankly have no other leads."

"If this is correct, I'm wondering how whoever's been communicating with you knows about Deerling and Braixen's connection anyways," Espurr said. "Or that the braixen Deerling knows just happens to know about your old allies. That seems like a lot to know about."

"We're wondering the same thing," Light said. "We can't figure it out either."

"We're about to reach Sahra Town," Lapras announced. "Get ready to disembark."

All the children looked beyond Lapras's head to see a mix of tropical trees and grass along with sand dunes and buildings and tents lining all across, and a few stalls for the market. Among those, Light could already see Kangaskhan's Café and the Kecleon's mart, the latter seeming especially busy with about a dozen Pokémon lined up to get supplies. The dock at the beginning of the dirt path was close that Lapras stopped at it only a few seconds later.

"Here we are," Lapras said. "Remember to be careful out there, all of you. Light, Fennix, Espurr, I'm trusting you keep an eye on your friends."

"We will," the three said, before all seven children jumped off Lapras's left side and onto the wooden dock.

"Alright, time for an adventure!" Pancham said while stretching after they got on the dock. "Can't wait to see something interesting for once!"

"Light is right, though, it is a little hot out here," Shelmet said. "And just when I was getting used to it cooling off from that hot summer."

"Well it is spring down here instead of fall," Espurr said. "You can even tell by looking at Deerling's coat. It's only going to get warmer from here."

While those three were chatting, Light, Fennix, Goomy, and Deerling had already left the dock and were looking around for any sign of the yellow furred vixen. There were many Pokémon already about, flygon, garchomp, and cacturn were the ones Light noticed first, but no current sign of a braixen. After scoping out the first part of town, Deerling looked at Light and Fennix questioningly.

"So when you guys normally see her, where is she?" the Grass/Normal-type asked.

"Somewhere between the docks and Kangaskhan's Café," Light answered. "I…think it's to see who's coming and going but it's hard to get anything out of her. All our conversations just end up coming back to the stick in her tail and things end up getting derailed from there."

"I ask her one time why she has a stick up her tail and that ends up what we always talk about," Fennix groaned. "I wasn't raised by a braixen or delphox, so I didn't know whether that's just something she does or if all braixen do it. And I still don't."

"Either way, looks like we're going to have to go a bit further in town to find her," Light said.

He looked back at Pancham, Espurr, and Shelmet who seemed to still be discussing…something, though Light couldn't make out what. "Hey you three, we're heading in further," Light said. "Might want to follow us and not get left behind."

Espurr, Pancham, and Shelmet all stopped their conversation and stepped off the dock to join the other four. As such, all seven of them walked into the town to continue their search for Braixen. As they walked, Light could feel the spring desert heat beating down on them and knew that, should they not find Braixen soon, the crew would end up getting distracted and nothing would be done. Luckily, though, Deerling called out that she found her, and soon ran off, telling everyone else where the Fox-Pokémon was.

"Hey, Braixen!" Deerling called out as she got close.

Braixen looked down at the deer running up to her with confusion in her eyes at first, but after a few seconds passed her eyes lit up. "It can't be…Deerling?!" Braixen asked. "You're here?!"

"Yeah, I am," Deerling said happily. "It's nice to finally meet you, Braixen!"

Braixen smiled before hugging Deerling. "Oh, it's nice to meet you too!" she said. After breaking the hug, she asked. "But what are you doing here anyways? Don't you live all the way in the Water Continent or something?"

"I've got a couple of friends in the Expedition Society," Deerling explained. "They're actually looking for your help with something. And since we're on break at my school, the rest of my classmates and me decided to come along with. I always wanted to meet you."

Everyone one else from Serene Village took that as their cue to walk up next to Deerling, so she could introduce them. "You've met Light and Fennix before, I've heard," Deerling said. "They're my friends from the Expedition Society."

Braixen looked over them with recognition. "Yeah, I have. Still want to know why I have a stick in my tail?" she asked teasingly.

"I want to know less and less the more I talk to you," Light admitted with a sigh.

"Well, friends of Deerling are friends of mine," she said. "Still going to tease you two, though."

 _Now I know how Fennix feels,_ Light thought.

"The other four are Goomy, Espurr, Pancham, and Shelmet," Deerling said.

"Alright, nice to meet you all," Braixen said. "I've heard a lot about you guys in Deerling's letters."

Shelmet whistled. "I hope she has," he said with almost hearts in his eyes. "Everyone deserves the right to know about the handsomest and most charming Pokémon in Serene Village."

"Yep, you fit her exact description," Braixen said, her arms crossing. "Luckily for me, I have Fire-type moves, and know how to use them."

Shelmet immediately ran behind Fennix. "Hey, why me?!" the fennekin asked.

"Because if she hits you with a Fire-type attack, it won't hurt as much," Shelmet said.

Fennix rolled her eyes before walking away from him and closer to Light. The pikachu himself was rolling his eyes at Shelmet's attempt to hit on Braixen. Made him half wonder if Shelmet would do that should Fennix evolve, but he figured there was too much bad blood between the two for that to happen.

"So anyways, you two wanted to talk to me about something?" Braixen asked Light and Fennix. "Not involving my stick or my tail I assume?"

"Yeah we did," Light said, his eyes rolling. "Do you happen to know anything about any distant ancestors of yourself? Have any family heirlooms? Know where your family might have lived thousands of years ago? Things like that? We're doing some research on a specific era of the ancient past, and we're hoping you might help us."

"Geez, how old are we talking about?" Braixen asked.

Light shrugged. "Have you heard about the Era of Darkness?" he asked.

"Nope!" Braixen said. "Never heard about it!"

"The Era of…what the heck now?" Pancham asked. "What is that?"

"It's the furthest point back that's agreed upon by most archeologists," Light explained. "We don't know much about aside from the fact that it was turbulent and chaotic, with several dark periods where we know absolutely nothing that happened. It's around that time that we've placed Mew's first battle against Dark Matter."

"Still have no clue," Braixen said. "Geez, what do they teach you at your school? That sounds much more interesting then what I learned today!"

"We're homeschooled by the Expedition Society themselves!" Fennix said proudly.

"Which means things like history and culture are priorities to us while other subjects are not," Light said. "But that's beside the point. Try to go as far back as possible."

"Hmm…" Braixen closed her eyes and thought about things for a few seconds. "Maybe the Oracle of Purity?"

"The…what now?" Light asked.

Braixen opened her eyes. "Apparently my great-great-great-great-great-great-"

 _Great, this might take a while,_ Light thought as the fox-Pokémon stated an uncountable number of greats.

"-great-great-grandmother, or something like that, was called the Oracle of Purity," Braixen said. "She was back around when this place wasn't a pile of uninteresting sand and actually had a lot of nature in it. That sounds like long ago."

"Wait, this place wasn't all sand and dunes?" Espurr asked, her interest peaked.

"Apparently not," Light said. "According to Mawile, this place was once more abundant then the Grass Continent. It was apparently once a tropical paradise of sorts. But the continent eventually shifted into a different climate and the plants that once normally survived died out, turning this place into the desolate wasteland we know it today. But it's thanks to it being so bountiful that many Pokémon chose to live here and there are lots of treasures left behind."

"Geez, I'd love to have lived back then," Braixen said. "I mean, it's warm all year round, but there's nothing interesting to see here."

"Anyways, what do you know about your ancestor?" Light asked.

"Not much, other than she used to live where the Sand Dune of Spirits is now," Braixen said. "My mom and pop told me they'd tell me more about her when I'm older."

"Well, at least we have a location," Fennix said. "Thanks Braixen! We'll check there first."

"No problem," Braixen said.

"…Sand Dune of Spirits, huh?" Light said, his face falling. "Great," he whispered. "I hoped I'd never have to go there again."

"Well, we should get going to there, then," Deerling said. "But it was great meeting you in person! Hopefully we can chat on the way back!"

"Yeah, I hope so too," Braixen said. "Good luck out there! Stay safe, my mom and pop told me the desert is pretty dangerous."

Braixen and Deerling waved each other goodbye before she rejoined the group. "So, anyone know where the Sand Dune of Spirits is?" Deerling asked.

Light sighed. "Right side of the northern mountain range," he said. "We'll be walking northwest for quite a long time. Don't worry, I've been there before, so I'll show you the way. Get ready for a long walk, you guys."

And without saying anything else, Light walked off on his own in that direction, not bothering to wait up for the rest of his friends.


	14. A Shiver

The walk through the desert to the Sand Dune of Spirits was a long and lonely one. Having been there before and deciding he wasn't interested in trudging through sand, Light took his friends across mostly barren rock. Light could feel his paws burning up because of that, but he mostly ignored the feeling.

 _All things considering,_ Light thought as he looked at the angle of the sun just barely to his left, _I'm going to beg for the heat very soon._

There was very little talking to be had as the children walked through. He could hear a complaint from Pancham every once in a while, but nothing specific and Light payed it no mind. He had enough already on his mind, the panda Pokémon's complaints weren't even a priority.

 _He remembered himself walking, silent, alone. Nobody behind him, nobody in front of him. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises covered his entire body and all of them flared up by the desert winds. It hurt, it stung, but Light ignored all the pain and pressed on regardless. He flinched as the wind blew, but his destination was more important than some measly pain._

" _I…I'll find you," Light said. "I swear, I will find you, Fennix. I don't care what it costs, but I'll bring you back. Somehow."_

 _But that wasn't all Light has to face. Night was slowly coming, the sun about to disappear from the horizon. Light's mind was telling him to keep walking, to go to the Sand Dune of Spirits regardless, just like his mind was telling him to ignore the pain, but Light's body was telling him a different story. The pain and fatigue was finally starting to get to him, and Light's body eventually refused to move. So the pikachu was forced to stop for the night._

 _Unfortunately for him, he didn't bring any firewood, tents, or anything that would allow for him a comfortable night. All Light had was his straw bed. And he soon learned why those were sold in bulk back in Sahra Town. With the sun gone, the temperature quickly lowered to the point where the heat that was once notable across the desert was turned into a frost worse than winter. Light started shivering and shaking in his straw bed as he tried to fall asleep._

"… _I wish I had some way of warming up," Light said to himself. "Fire, or anything. Like…having Fennix around. Just being around her makes everything warmer. With her around I didn't need to worry about temperature like this. Plus with her around, everything seemed brighter."_

 _Light shivered once more as frozen tears began falling. "I miss you…"_

Light shivered, just thinking about that long cold night. He took a quick glance back at Fennix, glad she was here. Glad she was alive. Three tablets in and Fennix was still around, and for that, Light was grateful. He wasn't walking through the sand with cuts and bruises all over because he didn't care about them. Even if they didn't already grab supplies for the night from Sahra Town, he wouldn't feel cold and alone tonight. For that, he was thankful.

The sun eventually fell over the Sand Continent and it was time for everyone to set up camp for the night. Fennix, as usual, was the designated fire starter and was quickly at work setting the rocks and sticks for the fire. Everyone else was setting up the three tents for everyone to sleep in, one tent for Pancham, Goomy, and Shelmet, another for Deerling and Espurr, and the final one for Light and Fennix. Once the tents were set up and the fire was started, everyone sat around the fire, enjoying the warmth in an otherwise cold night.

"Geez, never thought I'd miss the heat," Pancham said as he put his hands as close to the fire as possible.

"Yeah, I didn't think it was possible for it to be freezing in the desert," Shelmet added.

"I'd…say you get used to it, but you really don't," Light said. "You just have to stay in someplace warm and hope for the best. It helps when you have a fire and some tents."

Everyone silently looked at Light as he stared into the fire. Though he wasn't unresponsive, the pikachu still looked like he had a lot on his mind. He was acting like this for most of the walk over to this point, so everyone, even Pancham, looked worriedly at him.

 _Fennix, we need to talk,_ Espurr sent as a telepathic message to the fox Pokémon.

 _Alright, I figured,_ Fennix answered.

So Fennix, Espurr, Deerling, and even Pancham walked away from the fire in the nearest tent to talk. Fennix glanced at Pancham in surprise that he was joining, but she guessed Espurr must have asked him for some reason. Though she also found it odd that neither Goomy nor Shelmet joined them, making her wonder whether Espurr was going to fill them in later or not.

"Alright, so what do you want to talk about?" Fennix asked when they made it in the tent.

"It's about Light," Espurr said. "You've seen how he's been since we started going towards the Sand Dune of Spirits. How he's been so depressed. I'm not sure if you know why, but I looked into his mind and…"

"He came here before, when I was gone," Fennix said.

"Oh…you knew?" Espurr asked.

"Well I've never been to the Sand Dune of Spirits before," Fennix said in a matter-of-fact voice. "And Light and I go everywhere together. So if he's been here before and I haven't then…well…"

"Makes sense," Espurr admitted. "And his look reminds me of how he looked when he lost you?"

"…How was he after I disappeared?" Fennix asked. "He's never really told me and I…didn't want to ask."

"Terrible," Pancham said bluntly.

"The day you disappeared, we didn't even know what happened for a while," Deerling said. "We knew Light was off searching for you, but it wasn't until around midday when we realized neither of you came back. When we eventually found Light, he was collapsed on the floor and you were nowhere to be found. We figured something must have happened to you, but with Light how he was, we couldn't figure out 'what'."

"He wasn't able to say anything?" Fennix asked.

"He was pretty much incoherent for a long time after you disappeared," Espurr said. "To figure out what happened to you and why, I had to eventually break into his mind. He wasn't able to tell us anything directly."

"You broke into his mind?!" Fennix asked.

"Don't worry, it's not as painful as that makes it sound," Espurr said. "I just had to search his mind a bit deeper then I usually go for telepathy or mind-reading. At that point, you can easily figure out a Psychic-type is going through your mind and block it if you want, and at that point going any further would have actually hurt him, but he wasn't really in a state to resist, so I was easily able to go through and view what happened that morning. I didn't really want to do it, either, but we didn't know what happened to you and needed to find out."

"I…guess I shouldn't be surprised," Fennix said, her head tilted down. "Light…I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Pancham said.

This caused Fennix's head to snap back up. "What?!"

"…I couldn't really help him at all," Pancham said. "I mean, what could I really say? 'Sorry that the girl I spent my entire life picking on decided to disappear?' I…wanted to help, I really did, but…I was feeling down on myself too."

"You were?!" Fennix asked.

"You saved my life, remember?" Pancham said. "Even if it wasn't really what we thought it was, you were willing to save me instead of yourself. And before I really get a chance to make it up to you, you just up and disappeared. I've made you miserable all your life, you saved my life regardless and then…you were gone."

"The village itself wasn't really the same without you," Espurr said. "We all tried to move on with our lives, even Light, after a while, went back to the Expedition Society, but it felt a lot emptier. Even more empty then when you two were in the Expedition Society. Mr. Carracosta was down most of the time, and grumpier before, Mr. Watchdog surprisingly lost a lot of his…flamboyance, and barely anybody in the village smiled."

Fennnix was speechless at first. She knew about Light, it was obvious enough even without him talking about it, and she guessed her father, especially after what happened in the Trees of Abundance, but she never guessed the entire town was effected by her disappearance. The fennekin didn't even know what to say about that. She knew she had some impact in the town, both for better and for worse, but that she was cared for enough by everyone else that they were all sad by her disappearance, she didn't know that.

"S-sorry you all," Fennix said. "I-I mean, I didn't mean to disappear at all, but still."

"You wanna know how to make it up?" Pancham asked. "Tell that depressed mouse over there that he ain't the only one who was sad after losing you!"

"Speaking of which…" Espurr said, "I…don't know if you know this or not, but Light's still afraid of losing you."

"Yeah…I kinda figured that one out already," Fennix admitted.

"No, I mean right now," Espurr said. "During this Expedition. It's passed through his mind a couple of times. While a part of him is really happy to be remembering all of his old friends, another part of him is worried that you might get too many memories back during this Expedition and that it might force you to leave again. It's an…odd thing to worry about, but it keeps crossing his mind."

"So that's why he thinks I might disappear again?!" Fennix asked. "That's…that's…"

"That won't happen, we get it," Espurr said. "Light even sort of gets it as well. He knows he's just paranoid and hates himself for it. But that's his mindset right now. You guys are so close to the past that Light can't help to worry about what it will do."

"Wha-what do I do then?" Fennix asked.

"Well, not disappearing again would be a good start," Pancham said.

"Thanks Pancham, that really helps," Fennix said sarcastically.

"For now, there's really not much you can do," Espurr said. "Light knows this is true on some level. The problem is, he's not letting himself believe it. He's not letting it stop himself from helping you, so you at least have that. He's willing to go on this Expedition regardless. And since you've already gone through a few he's a little less worried about that. Just realize, part of the reason he's so depressed right now is because he's remembering what it was like to walk through her alone and is worried that might happen again."

Fennix's ears fell. "I…wish I could let him know for sure. It's not going to happen again! I'm here to stay!"

Pancham smiled teasingly. "Well, you could always go up to him and give him a nice big smooch!"

"Pancham!" Deerling, Espurr, and Fennix all yelled at the same time.

"Just saying," Pancham said with a laugh.

"Aaaand you ruined the moment," Deerling said. "Way to go, Pancham."

"Alright, fine!" Pancham said. "If that's how you feel, then I'm off!"

Pancham left the room, crackling in laughter as he did so. Deerling and Fennix both rolled their eyes at him while Espurr just sighed.

"And Pancham was actually being decent for once," Deerling said. "Oh well, it was nice while it lasted."

"Yeah, it was," Feenix agreed. "It's helped me…realize some things. So thanks, everybody."

 _I now know what Light's afraid of,_ Fennix thought. _But…he honestly doesn't need to be afraid of it._

 _After all, unlike him, I'm remembering nothing!_

* * *

The fire was starting to die and the night cold was beginning to creep in, so Light was about ready to retreat into his own tent for the night. He was vaguely aware that Fennix, Espurr, Deerling, and Pancham, but he didn't pay them much mind. Fennix would eventually come to their tent and Pancham would inevitably be kicked out of the girls' tent anyways. And Goomy and Shelmet would go soon anyways. Then, after a hopefully decently warm night's sleep they'd go to the Sand Dune of Spirits and…

"Hey! Light!" a voice called up, interrupting Light's train of thought. He looked up to see who was talking to him.

"Pancham?" Light asked. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to prank you and thought I'd give you the curtesy of telling you up front," Pancham said.

"Oh. Well thanks for the warning," Light said. "Now what do you actually want?"

Pancham sat down on Light's right side. "…We were chatting about you back there," Pancham said. "Me, Espurr, Deerling, Fennix."

"I'd be worried, but you said it involves Espurr, Deerling, and Fennix, so I probably shouldn't be," Light said. "What were you talking about."

"How depressed you are right now," Pancham said. "So I want to let you know something!"

"Shoot," Light said.

"The answer's obviously 'no', but do you know what I was doing the day Fennix disappeared?" Pancham asked.

"Here's your 'obvious answer'," Light responded. "No, I don't. I only really saw Espurr that day. So I don't know what the rest of you were doing."

"…I was working up the courage to apologize to her," Pancham said. "Despite me picking on her all the time and mocking her, she still saved me over saving herself. And then you guys both went to lovely Town and joined the Expedition Society, proving me wrong about her. I wanted to apologize for the longest time, but you guys didn't come back until you were suddenly these big world heroes. I was one of the Pokémon who told Fennix that she would never amount to anything and she proved me wrong in every way. So I was trying to figure out how I could apologize to her without sounding like a jerk. And once I finally figured it out…well you know what happened."

"That must've sucked," Light said.

"You bet it did!" Pancham said. "I finally work up the courage to apologize and she has to go and disappear on us! And because of that…I thought I'd never be able to. Never make it up to her. I…guess I felt pretty horrible about that."

"So…what I'm trying to say is, you're not alone," Pancham finished. "It sucked for me too when she left and I'd hate for her to be gone again. I've…got a lot to make up for her and not a lot of time to do it. Probably won't ever. But, she's back now, so I'm going to try my hardest. And I think you should enjoy your time with her too instead of being all constantly worried about her."

Light chuckled. "Yeah…I know. It's just hard to get that thought out of my brain sometimes."

"Well, if you need someone to talk to…I'm probably not the Pokémon to ask," Pancham admitted. "I'm not really good at any stupid emotional stuff, nor am I good at talking. But…at least I know what you're going through."

"…Well thanks Pancham," Light said. "Even if you're not the most…comforting of Pokémon to talk to, I do appreciate it."

Pancham contorted his face as if he had something to say and wasn't sure how to say it. He eventually tried, his voice going softer and softer as he spoke. "Oh…and…my name's…Priam…"

"What?" Light asked, looking confused at Pancham.

"Priam…that's my…birth name," Pancham said with much difficulty.

Light continued looking lost in the sudden turn of the conversation. "Alright? Do you…want me to call you that from now on or…?"

Pancham opened back his eyes up and looked angrily at Light. "What the heck are you talking about?! I just told you my birth name and you…" the Fighting-type quickly stopped as he remembered something. "Oh yeah…human. You don't know what that means. Fennix ain't helping you either. I always forget that! Geez, Light! Would you mind wearing some sort of shirt or something that says 'I used to be a human, I have no clue about anything Pokémon related?!' Might make things easier."

"And get me some strange looks," Light said. "So what exactly is the significance?"

"To anyone aside from a certain fennekin who loudly proclaims hers because she thinks it sounds cool, we only give our birth names to Pokémon we trust," Pancham said. "So I'm basically saying that I trust you, Light. Alright? No, I don't want you using my birth name from now on! I'm trusting you not to ever use it!"

Light took a few seconds to let what Pancham just said sink in. "…Alright," he said with a smile. "Thanks then, Pancham. Unfortunately, I can't really do the same to you. 'Light' is the only name I remember ever going by."

"No biggy," Pancham said. "Just stop moping around all the time. Sure the sand and rock around have been boring, but we're on an adventure! So be excited like you're on one!"

Light chuckled. "Fine, I will," he said. "Thanks. I'll try."


	15. A Crack in the Sand

The sun of the next day came eventually and Light began waking up from his straw bed as soon as the light hit him. As it was only morning, the desert heat had not started to come in, so Light woke up to a decently cool and refreshing climate, unlike the climate he knew they would face in only a few hours. This time he was even able to actually enjoy it, since he wasn't freezing all night. The perks of sleeping next to a Fire-type.

Knowing that trying to wake Fennix now would be a recipe for disaster, Light decided for himself that it would be best to see how everyone else was doing first. Though to his surprise when he got out there, nobody else was outside of their tents. As far as he could tell, he was currently the only one awake.

"Oh geez," Light said. "I mean, I know working for the Expedition Society has gotten me used to early mornings, but you'd think these guys would also be used to waking up early for school."

 _You say that, Light, but most of them have their parents wake them up,_ a voice in Light's head said. _Without that, they'll sleep in for a long time._

 _Espurr?_ Light asked.

It wasn't a few seconds later when the Psychic-type exited her tent. Her fur was messed up and disheveled, a lot more then Light had ever seen before. Her expression also looked quite tired with half-opened eyes that were being rubbed by her right paw.

"Uhh…are you ok?" Light asked. "Did you not get enough sleep last night? Was it too cold?"

"Well, not all of us got to sleep next to a Fire-type, but it wasn't that cold," Espurr said. "No, you're seeing me how I always look in the morning. I'm just usually good at hiding it. In fact, congratulate yourself. You're one of only a few Pokémon who get the honor to see me like this."

"But how did your fur get disheveled like that?" Light asked.

"I'm sure the Expedition Society has you guys make sure your fur is short?" Espurr said. Light nodded in confirmation. "That's why. Longer fur gets really messed up in the morning. But it's not too bad."

Espurr closed her eyes and concentrated for a few seconds. When she did so, she surrounded herself in a psychic aura. Using that psychic power, she put all her fur back in place. And, once she opened her eyes back up, they looked a lot less tired.

"Not the most fun morning routine, but you get used to it," Espurr said. "Anyways, I'm assuming Fennix is also still asleep?"

"Yep," Light said. "Think you could help me wake everyone? We should move now while the desert is still cool."

"Shouldn't be too difficult," Espurr said. "A simple telepathic shock should do what we need."

Espurr once again closed her eyes and it wasn't more than a few seconds later before Light heard the shuffling of everyone waking up. It wasn't too long later when everyone came out of their tents with varying degrees of tiredness about them. Light had to chuckle at how everyone was acting more tired than Fennix was.

"Why in the heck are we up so early?" Pancham asked.

"Would you rather walk through the desert when it's nice and cool, or when it's scorching hot?" Light asked. "Because I can already tell you which one I chose. If we leave pretty soon, we'll reach the top of the Sand Dune of Spirits before it become too hot."

"He's got a point," Shelmet said.

"Shut it Shelmet," Pancham responded. "Fine, fine, let's get this over with."

"Alright everyone, let's get the tents packed up and get moving," Light said with an energetic clap. With that said, he went to his and Fennix's own tent and started talking it down. While he was doing that, everyone else was flabbergasted at his sudden burst of energy.

"What happened to him last night?" Goomy said. "He was so depressed before and now look at him."

"Don't look at me!" Fennix said. "I wanted to say something to him last night, but by the time I got back to our tent, he was already asleep."

"I mighta had something to do with that," Pancham said proudly. "Just maybe."

"I find that hard to believe," Deerling said skeptically.

"Well, either way it's nice to see Light's finally out of his funk yesterday," Goomy said. "Let's do what Light asked us and keep it that way."

So the rest of the kids proceeded to pack up their tents as well and it wasn't long before all of the tents were packed and everything was ready to go. As such, they all managed to go off and begin their second day's journey through the Desert Continent while it was still nice and cool.

To also brighten spirits, Light was a lot more energetic in both movement and thought that day. While thoughts of what brought him to the Sand Dune of Spirits was still in his mind, and he had to admit to himself that a part of him was still worried about losing Fennix after this, he didn't let those thoughts ruin the adventure for him. Fennix was here, he was exploring with his friends, and things were just fine.

"So, what type of enemies can we expect in the Sand Dune of Spirits?" Espurr asked as they got close, to the point where they could see the dune right in front of them.

"Fire, Ground, about what you'd expect from a desert," Light said. "Though one of the Fire-types there is houndoom."

"So no Psychic or Fire-type moves," Fennix said. "Great, that probably won't be fun."

"And me and Deerling don't do so good against Fire-types," Shelmet said. "I hope you've got some sort of plan or something?"

"Of course, I do," Light said. "Pancham, Goomy, and I will take the front. We should be able to take most of the attacks, thanks to Goomy's Dragon-typing, Pancham being able to take on any Rock or Dark-types, and my moves are mostly close combat anyways so I might as well. Deerling and Shelmet, you two will be behind us so we can protect you, though Deerling, if you can try and move out to attack any Ground-types, that would be helpful. Sorry Shelmet, I don't think you'll be doing much fighting here."

"I like this plan already," Shelmet said.

"And I assume you want us in the back?" Espurr asked.

"Exactly," Light answered. "Watch our backs and attack anyone you can from far away. If you can't do that because of a Houndoom or something, then just keep an eye on our items and heal the rest of us when we need it."

"Sounds...boring, but ok," Fennix said.

"So long as I'm helpful, I'm fine with that," Espurr said.

"Alright," Light said. He looked forward at the large dune and prepared himself. "Let's go, everyone."

* * *

To Light's enjoyment, the excursion through the Sand Dune of Spirits went relatively easily. The crew just passed a houndoom, one of the Pokémon the pikachu was most worried about them facing due to neither or Fennix or Espurr being able to do anything about it. However, Goomy's Dragonbreath weakened it enough that Pancham's Arm Thrust to its neck easily knocked it out without anyone else having to get involved. And it went smoothly like that with all Pokémon.

"Well, we're making good time," Light said with a smile after that last skirmish. "We're almost at the end already."

"There are seven of us now, as opposed to just you," Espurr pointed out. "It's only natural that we'd go through much faster."

"Guess we're pretty useful, huh?" Pancham bragged. "Admit it Light. It's better exploring with us then even the Expedition Society."

"Depends on what you mean by 'better'" Light said. "Considering most of the Expedition Society are stronger than even Fennix or me, and we're the strongest of this group except for maybe Espurr."

"Geez, you didn't have to put it that way," Pancham said.

"You're the one who asked," Light said. "But seriously, though. This has been enjoyable, guys. Much more enjoyable then going through here alone, that's for sure. Thanks everyone."

Light got various amounts of "your welcomes" from everyone before continuing on. It wasn't long after that they managed to reach the top of the dune, which ended in a large dusty red plateau where one could see miles of desert. Standing at the end of the plateau staring at the sun was, as usual, Xatu.

"Oh, this is where Xatu lives," Fennix said. "So that's the reason you were here before."

"What's so special about that Xatu?" Pancham asked.

"Xatu has the ability to see both the past and the future by looking into the sun unblinkingly," Light said. "How that works, I don't know, but I've seen it in action, so I know it's true."

"Hmm…still no tablet, though," Espurr said as she looked around the area. "Do you think we're in the wrong place?"

"I know one way we can find out," Light said. He walked up to Xatu with Fennix running up to his side to follow him side-by-side. The rest of the children followed behind them.

"…So you have come once again," Xatu said in his low monotone voice without moving at all.

"And I bet you know what I'm looking for, right?" Light asked.

"…You brought friends," Xatu said.

"Geez, when you said this guy sees everything, you weren't kidding," Pancham said.

"I know you don't like having too many visitors, but these guys normally live in the Water Continent," Light pleaded. "They won't be able to come here and disturb you after this anyways. And I brought them here because they're on break and wanted to go on an adventure."

"…You have no need to please your case," Xatu said. "I know what brings you and your friends here. You seek the tablet left here regarding information on Puriah, do you not?"

"The tablet for who now?" Fennix asked.

However, Light's ears twitched at that name. "Puriah," Light repeated softly to himself. "Yeah," he told Xatu. "Do you know where the tablet is?"

"Naturally," Xatu said. He turned around and revealed that, within his wings, was the tablet Light and Fennix were looking for.

"So you have it!" Fennix said. "But how?! A-are you…?"

"It was placed behind me one day as I watched the sun," Xatu said. "The recipient told me to give it to you two when you came searching for it. I am not who you are looking for."

"But you know who we are, right?" Light asked. "You knew we were here before looking at is, so you must have known who they were."

"I do," Xatu said.

Light and Fennix waited in anticipation for who Xatu would name as the Pokémon who gave him the tablet, but Xatu remained silent. Light and Fennix waited for a few seconds, trying to be patient with Xatu, but still the Psychic/Flying-type said nothing. Light could see from the corner of his eye that Fennix was just about to lose patience, but it wasn't her that spoke first.

"Well, are you going to tell them, or not?!" Pancham asked, his arms crossed and face displaying his annoyance.

"I will not," Xatu said.

Light and Fennix both sighed. "Let me guess, they asked you not to," Light said.

"You still have much to learn," Xatu said. "Now take the tablet and begin that learning."

Light took the tablet from between Xatu's wings. "Thanks for that," Light said. "Do you mind if we wait here until tomorrow morning? It'll be an easier walk if we go back fresh in the morning."

"I would rather teleport you all back to Sahra Town," Xatu said. "It will inevitably save me having to listen to your questions."

Without giving any the chance to say anything, Xatu stepped forward and closed his eyes. A flash of light surrounded everyone and they soon felt themselves being pulled up, as if gravity decided to work in reverse. Light had to admit it was never a very pleasant experience being forcefully pulled into the air like that, but their paws soon touched solid ground and the light around them disappeared to show them the palm trees and rivers of sand in Sahra Town.

"What the…?" Shelmet asked.

"Geez, the jerk," Pancham said. "Yeah, sure, thanks for just teleporting us without much warning."

"For once, I actually agree with Pancham," Deerling said indigently. "What's his problem."

"He really doesn't like visitors," Light said. "Apparently, he used to live on the Air Continent. But after helping save the world from a meteorite, or something, he became so well-known that he had a lot of visitors and got so distracted that his power of foresight was being drained. So he moved. That's why he's not a fan of too many Pokémon visiting."

"Doesn't give him permission to be a jerk," Deerling said.

Light shrugged. "Sorry, I can't complain," he admitted. "It's partially thanks to him that I have Fennix back. And he's helping us here too. He's just…extremely introverted, I guess."

"Since we've found what we're looking for anyways, what should we do now?" Espurr asked.

"Well, we could head home," Light said as he looked to the sky to gauge the time. "That'd probably be for the best. It'll be night by the time the Lapras Liner reaches Lively Town, but we can all just sleep in the Expedition Society's headquarters."

"What, you're saying the adventure's over already?" Pancham asked. "Oh come on! I was hoping this adventure would last the entire break!"

"You sure we can't stay here for the night and head back tomorrow?" Goomy asked. "I'd like to look around the town for a bit."

"Yeah, I need to find and thank Braixen for helping us, too," Deerling said. "After that, I wouldn't mind looking around."

"Well Light, looks like you're outvoted!" Pancham said. "Woo hoo! Time to look around!"

Light sighed. "Fine," he said. "Fennix and I will get a room at the inn. If you follow the path behind Kangaskhan's Café, you'll find it. This town isn't really that big, so it shouldn't be too hard. If you get lost though, just ask Kangaskhan for help. She'll be able to easily point you towards it. Also, stay out of trouble. That especially goes for you two, Pancham and Shelmet."

"Yes 'dad,' I get it," Pancham said. He turned to his friend. "Come on Shelmet, let's go!"

Those two ran off before anything else could be said, causing Light to sigh. "I…might regret this," he said.

"Do you guys mind holding off on making reservations for me for a couple of seconds?" Deerling asked. "I might stay with Braixen tonight, if she has room."

"Sure, but how will we know?" Light asked.

"Well, I plan on going with you," Espurr said. "So she could always tell me telepathically."

"You're coming with us?" Fennix asked. "Why?"

"I'll probably be able to see the Sand Continent again some other time," Espurr admitted. "I'm much more fascinated right now about what you guys are about to learn. Plus I can keep a telepathic eye on everyone to make sure they're doing alright. So I think it's best if I stick with you guys."

"We'll see you guys later then," Goomy said before he and Deerling left to explore themselves.

"Well then, shall we?" Espurr asked.

"Yeah, sure," Light said. "Let's get rooms at the inn."

* * *

Thanks to Deerling managing to get herself a sleepover with Braixen, Light, Fennix, and Espurr all agreed to get two rooms, one for themselves and the other for Pancham, Shelmet, and Goomy. As such, the trio all went to their room—which was dusty brown due to the inn having been carved into a rock wall behind the town—where Fennix began looking at the tablet they got to translate it. While she was doing that, Espurr was laughing jovially at how easily they were able to get in.

"I can't believe they seriously waved the fact that you need to be an adult to get rooms by you guys just showing your Expedition Society badges," she said with a laugh.

Light just shrugged. "Just goes to show you how reputable the Expedition Society has become. Even if Fennix and I are kids, the fact that we work for the Expedition Society lets us do things like that. So long as we don't do something to ruin that reputation, they trust us just based on this badge alone."

"The perks of being a part of the Expediton Society, I guess," Espurr said. "It sounds like an enjoyable time."

"You know, if you want to join us during breaks or the summer, you can," Light said. "During school, that'd be more difficult since we're long gone by the time school ends, but any other time we wouldn't mind having a third member."

"I have thought about it from time to time," Espurr admitted. "School isn't even what's stopping me. I feel like I'm far enough alone with my studies that I'm confident I can survive in the outside world. I also feel that there's so much more I could learn if I did join the Expedition Society then I would gain from school."

"So then, why don't you?" Light asked. "Team Rebirth would be happy to have you. and even if you don't join us, I'm sure the rest of the Expedition Society would also be fine with you joining."

"So, Fennix, have you finished deciphering the tablet, yet?" Espurr asked.

Light rolled his eyes at the blatant and obvious subject change. _I guess it doesn't really matter, though,_ the pikachu admitted to himself. _As much as I'd love to have her in the team, if she doesn't want to, that's her choice._

"I don't really 'decipher' anything, I just look at the tablet and know what it says," Fennix admitted. "But yeah. I'm not…as confident as usual, but I think I know what it says."

"Not as confident as usual?" Espurr asked. "What's wrong?"

Fennix looked up, wide-eyed. "Sorry! Never mind! Let me just read it."

Fennix looked back down. " 'These are the archives of the One Who Remembers, the last who knows of the events that happened in the ancient past. This archive is on the second ally of Mew, a braixen from the Hills of the Oracles, known as the Oracle of Purity."

"So, Braixen was right," Espurr said. "She did have an ancestor known as the 'Oracle of Purity.' And I figure this 'Hill of Oracles' must have been where the Sand Dune of Spirits is now."

"But then what was Xatu talking about a Puriah?" Fennix asked. "No matter where I looked, I couldn't find that name anywhere."

"We might have to ask Mawile about that, see what she thinks," Light said. "But Fennix, can you continue?"

"Yeah, sure," Fennix said.

"'The Oracle of Purity was born to a strong line of psychics who were known throughout the Golden Continent. The Pokémon of that continent would go to them constantly to ask for advice on their many pursuits: when and how to plant crops, who to socialize with, who their children would mate, and many more. It was no exaggeration to say that the Pokémon of that continent were dependent on those oracles.'"

"'As such, there was much expected from the Oracle of Purity. She was to be seen as perfection by the Pokémon she interacted with. There was no other course for her. However, it was a role she accepted with the dignity and grace she was raised with. She knew perfection was impossible and accepted the paradox of working towards that impossibility. Though it would be wrong to say she never felt the pressure of living up to impossible standards, she understood her limits and this allowed her not to be tainted by Dark Matter, even when all other oracles were turned to stone by the servants of Dark Matter.'"

"All the other…what?!" Espurr asked.

"I think I figured out what brought Mew and me there," Light said depressingly.

"You remembering something?" Fennix asked.

"Only emotions," Light admitted. "Fear, panic. Screaming, crying. Chaos everywhere. Nothing concrete, but combine that with what you said and I think I know exactly why we were sent there. Think about it, if the Pokémon were so dependent on the oracles, then imagine how they'd react to find out that there's only one left who wasn't turned to stone. And that panic could easily lead Pokémon into despair and that despair could make them into servants of Dark Matter. Along with one confirmed to have acted there, it was a disaster waiting to happen. The Sand…or Golden Continent, whatever it was in the past, could have become nothing but statues."

"It's easy to see why you were sent," Espurr admitted.

Fennix, unable to say anything else, continued reading. "'The Oracle was still in training at the point when Mew and the human came to her for help catching the one who turned those she knew to stone. Despite that, though, she was still able to help them find and defeat the servant of Dark Matter before they caused any more harm. However, defeating that servant wasn't enough, and so the Oracle of Purity joined Mew and the human in hopes of somehow finding a way to bring the other oracles back, after calming the Pokémon of the Golden Continent."

"'Along their travels, Mew formed the closest bond with her over how their respective roles required them to be seen as perfect by their fellow Pokémon, though Mew also secretly idolized and was jealous of her. Though they both bore the same weight, she was able to accept that weight in a way Mew never could. Pikachu and the Oracle of Purity also formed a close bond, one due more to them chatting about their differences in social standards and expectations. While she was more open with everyone during the journey then she was back at home, it was with Pikachu that she was the most open.'"

"That's…pretty much it," Fennix finished. "At least on the Oracle of Purity. There's the usual clue to the next place, but I want to go over that later."

"So Light, does any of that sound familiar?" Espurr asked.

"You weren't there, so this will make no sense to you, but I feel the same way with Pikachu's archive," Light said. "The personality and species I recognize well enough and sound familiar to me, but I can't really picture anything else. The name 'Oracle of Purity' doesn't really sound familiar to me at all. And with what I can remember of her, she doesn't seem the type to walk around with such a haughty name. Maybe it's just a title everyone else gave her and she went by something different when around us, I don't know, but the name just doesn't sound familiar."

"I-I'm sure that's what it said!" Fennix exclaimed.

"And I'm not doubting you," Light assured her. "Your translations of the ancient language have been pretty good so far, and some of the things you say do sound familiar. My memories might just be faulty or something. I mean, after having two different memory losses right, one right after another, and a third knock to my memory a few months later, it wouldn't surprise me of something like that happened."

"Light, that's a horrible idea," Espurr pointed out. "Memory loss like that could affect your ability to create new memories."

 _Yeah, Espurr, I know,_ Light thought, knowing Espurr could easily hear it through telepathy. _Honestly, the thought that I could have spotty memory like that terrifies me. You really don't have to tell me twice. But I'll take worrying about the implications over Fennix being depressed like this any day._

 _I'd worry about both your and her health, but that's beside the point,_ Espurr told Light telepathically. _You aren't entirely wrong about worrying about her, though. I can sense something is bothering her, something big, but it's not on the front of her mind, so I'm not entirely sure what it is._

"Well, the two of you have already found three tablets, right?" Espurr asked. "By following the clues you were given? That, along with Light remembering some of the things you've said, suggests that your translations are, for the most part, correct. But if you really need to be sure, ask Mawile. If she's been looking at your tablets too, that means she might have noticed any errors in what you've said and could tell you about it."

Fennix sighed, Espurr's worlds of assurance seemingly not making her feel better. "Yeah, we should," she said. "But Light, until then, do you mind if we not worry about the hint? I…want to make sure of something first."

"Yeah, I understand," Light said. "We can wait."

"T-thanks," Fennix said. "I think I'll head to bed now. Night you two."

Fennix walked over to her bed, laid down in it, and quickly closed her eyes. Light doubted that she would fall asleep anytime soon, though, especially with how much she seemed to have on her mind. So he decided to keep any conversations he had with Espurr telepathically.

 _Yep, something is definitely wrong with her,_ Light thought.

 _I wish I could help you figure out what's wrong,_ Espurr answered back. _She's apparently really good at hiding her thoughts from a telepath. But whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it goes deeper than just possibly being wrong on the translation. There's something wrong and I'd start discussing that with her as soon as you're done talking with Mawile._

 _I will,_ Light thought. _Way things are now, I almost have to._


	16. Lost in Translation

After dropping off the children back at Serene Village, Light and Fennix walked back to Lively Town to meet with Mawile. While they were walking, Light happened to notice Fennix was feeling down on herself. She tried to keep it off her face as much as possible by smiling instead, but Light could tell easily. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes and her steps were slow and lethargic instead of the spring in her step she usually had.

"Fennix, are you sure you're okay?" Light asked.

"I…I'll be fine," Fennix said, though Light could tell that was an obvious lie. Fennix herself knew how obvious that was and chuckled before saying, "That…didn't sound very convincing, did it?"

"No, it really didn't," Light said. "And I can tell something's wrong."

"I suppose," Fennix said. "Sorry, Light. I'm just…in a weird funk right now. I'll…get out of it eventually. So just give me some time."

"Hopefully that meeting with Mawile will help," Light said.

"Yeah…I hope so," Fennix said, though her voice was full of doubt.

Light left it at that, knowing he didn't have any more words of comfort for his friend. He instead placed his hopes that meeting with Mawile would help lift Fennix's mood. It wouldn't be long before that happened anyways, they were only a few minutes from Lively Town, so the walk wouldn't be that much longer.

As such they quickly entered Lively Town then walked north until they reached the Expedition Society base. There they went in and down to the basement archeological room where Mawile said she would be waiting for them. And she was in the recreation of the Gilded Chamber, her back turned towards the entrance, with the three tablets they already got placed in front of her.

"Mawile, we're here," Light said.

"Good, I've been waiting for you," Mawile said. "You asked me to double check what these tablets say, correct?"

"I trust Fennix's reading completely," Light said before anything else. "But something has been odd this entire time. I can recognize a lot of the things she says, but none of the names. And with this recent tablet…" Light reached into his bag and grabbed the tablet, "Fennix read 'Oracle of Purity' and that's what Braixen also said, but Xatu called her 'Puriah' or something like that. So can you help us with this?"

"…Yes, I can," Mawile said. She turned around. "I, myself, thought something was wrong, specifically on the pikachu's name. That sounded more like a title then anything resembling a name. So I decided to take a closer look at the tablet."

"And…?" Fennix asked.

"Shaymuflore," Mawile said. "That's his name. Shaymuflore."

"Shaymuflore?" Fennix asked.

"Yes, it's the combination of the species shaymin and an ancient word for bloom," Mawile said. "Fennix's interpretation is very close to what the word actually means: 'someone who managed to make desolate fields grow.' With a few alterations, like the location and his actual actions, the meaning does change to: 'the one who made the brown fields grow.' So Fennix, you were both right and wrong."

"I…I don't understand," Fennix said. "How…?"

"It seems there is a slight limitation to Fennix's ability to read the ancient language," Mawile said. "It's a fascinating one, to be sure. Fennix, while you can look at the ancient language and translate it, it seems you do so instinctively without any knowledge of ancient language at all. That means that there are certain interpretive facts you're going to miss. Names that use an ancient word, for example. That's why you couldn't read Shaymuflore and instead read its definition, since you don't know that word."

"R-really?" Fennix asked. "B-but I read Light's name just fine!"

"That's because Light's name was Light in the ancient texts too," Mawile said. "While it's impossible to tell for sure, it's likely that the language Light used as a human is close to the language we use today. It's the only word in that tablet that doesn't belong to the ancient tongue. Unless, Light, you have something to say."

Light shook his head. "Sorry," the pikachu said. "For all I've recognized from my time with Mew these past few weeks, I still have pretty much no memories. I…think Mew translated everything for me, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm just…pretty sure I chose the name 'Light' because I wanted to be a force against Dark Matter, like what Fennix read. Whether there was any special meaning in the ancient language…I wouldn't know."

"It's unlikely based on what I've read," Mawile said.

"L-Light, do you recognize those names?" Fennix asked.

"…Sorry Fennix, but I do recognize Shaymuflore," Light admitted. "He's definitely the pikachu I once knew. I can't remember much of my time with him, but his name fits everything you told me about him. …I didn't want to say this before, but same with Puriah. Her name fits everything you mentioned about her more than the 'Oracle of Purity.'"

"I would have to look at it for sure, but I believe the correct translation you are looking for there is Oracle Puriah," Mawile said. "The Oracle of Purity."

"So…I was wrong," Fennix said with a sense of finality in her voice.

"Not necessarily," Mawile said. "Your translations were spot on everywhere else. When I looked through, the only other differences I found are interpretive differences, and I can see where you got your interpretation. Even the names, you got the correct translations of what those names mean. Your translations are not the problem. It's that you're translating too much, in a way. You don't know the Ancient Language, so things that differ from a straight translation, like names, are completely lost to you."

Fennix looked to the ground, Mawile's words of comfort clearly not comforting her. Light rolled through his thoughts, trying to think of something to say to the fennekin, but by the time any words of comfort came to him, she suddenly ran off. Light extended his left arm to try and stop her, but he wasn't able to do anything before she bounded back upstairs.

"Fennix…" Light said.

"Hmm…it seems there's something major on her mind," Mawile said.

Light placed the tablet down. "Sorry Mawile, I need to go see what's wrong with Fennix," Light said.

"I'll continue looking through these tablets," Mawile said. "Tread careful while talking to Fennix. I sense there's more to her state of mind right now then just translation errors."

"What do you mean?" Light asked.

"If I knew the answer to that, I would have told you already," Mawile said.

"Point taken," Light said. "I'll go find her."

So Light walked up the steps to entire the main room and try and find the fennekin. As he fully expected, she wasn't anywhere around the meeting room and he didn't any indication of where she went. However, by the entrance of the Expedition Society building was Bunnelby, who looked like he was standing there for a while. So Light walked up to him first.

"Hey Bunnelby, have you seen Fennix?" Light asked.

"Yeah, I did," Bunnelby said. "She was off runnin to the crew rooms. Why? What happened?"

"It's a long story," Light said. "Thanks."

So Light ran off to the crew rooms and found Fennix in their shared room. And the scene she saw her in broke his heart. Fennix was lying in her bed, sniveling and whimpering, forepaws covering her eyes. Despite that, though, Light could clearly see the river of water pouring from her eyes and onto her straw bed. It didn't take him much time to figure out that she was crying.

So Light walked up to her, sat down next to her, and placed a paw on her back in comfort. He stood there unmoving until Fennix decided to acknowledge his presence. It was a few minutes, those few minutes she spent crying, before she finally did so.

"L-Light…sorry you had to see this," Fennix said.

"Fennix, it's okay," Light said. "So what if your translations are a little off. You're still almost completely right. I've recognized almost everything else you've said. Even if it wasn't names, at least I remembered everything else you said about our old allies. I can confirm that what you're reading is true."

"Isn't that good for you?!" Fennix said, sarcasm spitting out like fire. "I'm so glad you can remember them! I'm sure you've enjoyed all those happy memories you have with your old allies!"

Light stood up and quickly took a step back. His mouth was agape with surprise at what she said and the tone she said it. He could almost feel his worldview shatter at the venom in Fennix's words. He could feel time stop at how uncharacteristic that was for the fennekin.

Fennix herself realized this and looked up to him with sorrowful eyes. "Sorry," she said. "That was mean of me. It's just…hard."

"Fennix, what is this about?" Light asked. "You can tell me anything. I promise I'll listen and try to understand. So please…tell me."

Fennix looked to the ground once again. "I…don't remember anything," Fennix said. "Nothing. You've been talking about how you can sort of remember everything I've been reading. Well, I wish I could feel the same. But I feel nothing. The only tablet that I read anything vaguely familiar was yours, and that's just because I know you. Shaymuflore's? Puriah's? I didn't even know their names, let along anything else about them? When I read their tablets, it's like I'm reading something about a complete stranger. Not a companion I had in another life."

"Fennix I…" Light started, but soon realized he had no words to say.

"It stinks!" Fennix yelled, her head raised to the sky. "These are the Pokémon we decided to change our forms to match. You decided to become a pikachu thanks to Shaymuflore and I decided to become a fennekin thanks to Puriah. They were our good friends who fought with us against Dark Matter. And what thanks to they get? I can't even remember them anymore! And I doubt I'll recognize the next two either! I'll read their names wrong, I won't remember anything about it. Remember what this 'One who Remembers' if that's even his name, said? 'Search your memories'? Well I have no memories! And I still don't!"

"…This entire time," Light said. "I…didn't realize…"

"I just…don't know what to do," Fennix said, much quieter now. "I thought this would be some amazing adventure that'll help me remember all my old allies when I was Mew. That I'd be able to learn more about my past life. But now…I feel farther away from Mew than I ever was. I…really feel like our connection has been severed for good. That I'll never understand who I was."

"How long has this been hurting you?" Light asked. "Have you been thinking this the entire time we've been on this expedition?"

"N-sort of," Fennix answered. "It…started a little with pikachu's tablet. But I thought, maybe it's just because he was closer to you, that's why I don't recognize him. It still hurt that I didn't remember anything, but I was hoping the next one would change it. But then with Puriah's…the Pokémon who I became a fennekin because, I couldn't recognize her either. And now Mawile tells me I'm getting their names wrong too. I…really have lost all connections to the ancient past."

"I'm…sorry," Light said.

Fennix shook her head. "It's…not your fault," Fennix said. "You were brought directly here. I was reincarnated and had the remaining parts of Mew in me severed to come back. It's not your fault you can remember everything I don't. It's just…I'm so jealous of you. You can remember so much more than me. It hurts a lot hearing you gush about our old friends when I can't remember them. …No, not our old friends. Your old friends. I can't consider myself their friend."

Fennix gave a long sigh. "…Can we just quit this expedition?" Fennix asked. "Just…go back to doing other things that don't involve the past? I…don't really feel like doing this anymore."

Light took another step back in surprise, but then told himself that he should have expected this conclusion the way Fennix had been talking.

Fennix noticed his reaction and said, "I'm sorry. It's sorta funny, Espurr told me that a part of you wanted to stop this because you were worried it'd cause me to disappear. But now you've started to enjoy this. I can see you have fun learning about all your old friends. And now I'm the one wanting it to end. I'm so selfish. You were willing to go with me on this expedition this entire time despite not wanting to. And here we are, now you wanting to and me not, and I want to stop. I'm sorry for being so selfish. But…I just can't."

Light paused for a moment. "…Can you please at least think about it for a bit, before we call off the expedition?" Light asked. "Relax, calm down a little, and then tell me. If you want to at that point then…we'll call of the expedition. But until then…can you pleas think about it."

"I…guess so," Fennix said. "I owe you that much."

Fennix got out of her bed and started walking to the entrance of the room.

"Where are you going?" Light asked as he saw her.

"I'm going back to my Pop's place at Serene Village," Fennix answered. "I'll…think about things there. S-see you later, Light."


	17. Pain

Fennix's walk to and through Serene Village was a lonely one. She did not notice the passage of time as she walked, or whether time even passed. She did not notice the scenery that passed by on her journey, walking to Serene Village by pure muscle memory and instinct. The only thing she noticed as she walked was the pain she carried.

 _Light…I'm sorry,_ Fennix apologized as she walked, tears falling from her face. _I feel like such a jerk for doing this. I feel horrible. You're always there for me. You've always followed my dreams without complaining. And here I am…selfishly asking us to stop this expedition when you want it so much. I really hate it but…_

 _I just can't. I can't keep hearing about all these Pokémon. It hurts so much, hearing about all these Pokémon and not remembering any of them. I feel terrible for forgetting them, especially the way Light talks about them. But then again…_ a teardrop fell from Fennix's face, _I guess you can't forget what you've never known._

Fennix eventually made it to Serene Village, walking through the calm path to her house. Though Serene Village was a much smaller place then Lively Town, she knew several Pokémon likely saw her in her depressed state. However, if anyone did or tried to offer any words of comfort, Fennix blocked them all out. Her only focus was returning to her father's blue walled house and crashing in there. Nothing else mattered.

So she eventually reached the house. The first thing she noticed when she walked in was her Pops in the kitchen. The Rock/Water-type turned around when he heard footsteps inside his house and saw his daughter and her depression. His expression turned to a thoughtful one as he saw her.

"Hi Pops," Fennix said in a hollow voice. "I'm…home."

"…You may rest in your room," Carracosta said. "I'll bring something for you to eat there soon, and then we'll talk."

"T-thanks, Pops," Fennix said.

She walked into her room as Carracosta asked her to and waited there. While she was waiting, she smelled a lofty aroma coming from the kitchen and her stomach started growing. A lot. At that point, Fennix realized just how hungry she was.

Carracosta eventually returned into her room with a small plate filled with food. Fennix gave him a wordless "thanks" before digging into her food. While she was eating, her father placed a flipper on her back rubbed her comfortingly.

After quickly finishing of her food, Fennix said, "Thanks Pops, I really needed that. Didn't even realize how hungry I was."

"Did you walk all the way here from Lively Town without eating once?" Carracosta asked.

"I don't think I stopped once walking here," Fennix said. "Not to eat, sleep, or anything. I didn't even notice how tired, hungry, or anything."

"You should take better care of yourself," Carracosta reprimanded. "Even if you have a lot to think about and want to go to a place to think, you should still take care of yourself. And you should have had Light or someone escort you."

"S-sorry, Pops," Fennix said. "I wasn't really thinking."

"No, you weren't," Carracosta said. "But that shows you have something major on your mind. Would you like to talk about it?"

"It's…hard to say," Fennix said.

"I'm your father," Carracosta said. "I have seen much more of the world then you did. There's very little you can say that I can't understand."

"A-alright," Fennix said. The fennekin explained what had been happening to her over the past week.

"…So, you wish to give up on finding the 'One who Remembers' due to not remembering any of the tablets you have found, correct?" Carracosta said.

"It just…it hurts so much, you know," Fennix said. "In a way, I'm Mew. I was born from Mew's spirit being sent on. And I want to live up to that legacy. Even if I was severed from Mew's spirit to come back here…especially since I was severed from Mew's spirit, I want to live for both myself and my past life. But…I can't remember any of Mew's old friends. Light does, but I don't. So it hurts to hear all about them, and not remember anything. It hurts hearing about how important they were to Mew while sounding like complete strangers to me."

"Hmm…so that's the difficulty you're having then," Carracosta said. "Trying to live up to the legacy of a past you no longer belong to."

"Well…you don't have to put it like that," Fennix said.

"If what you're saying is true, then how else should I put it?" Carracosta asked. "You are no longer Mew. It's as simple as that. Therefore, this should not be a concern to you."

"But I…I don't just want to let that go!" Fennix yelled desperately. "I can't just pretend Mew was never a part of me! I can't just live my life as a fennekin ignoring all of this! I…I just can't!"

"Then why are you sitting here moping, girl?" Carracosta asked in a slightly harsh tone. "You right now have two paths ahead of you. If you truly wish to live your life for both yourself and Mew, then you should learn about Mew's past allies. I don't care how much it hurts, it is your duty to do so! It's the life you inherited, so if you wish to accept that, then you need to accept this pain as well. Life is about more than just bouncing between fun and pleasure."

"If you wish to disregard that and live as Fennix, then you have a job to do. You are working for the Expedition Society who have a task for you to do. Even if you don't enjoy it, it is your job to see this task through to the end. Work is not all fun and games. You will inevitably need to do things you're not too interested in, but you have to do them because it's the job they gave you. Either way, I don't want to hear a word about you giving up on your expedition just because 'it hurts'. Do you understand me, young girl?"

Fennix flinched at her father's reprimands. "Y-yes, Pops," Fennix said. "B-but…"

"No 'buts'," Carracosta said. "I'm not finished yet. There is one other reason you should continue this Expedition. And that reason is Light."

"L-Light?" Fennix asked. "I mean, yeah, I feel really bad for doing this to him, and for being so selfish but…"

"There's more to it than that!" Carracosta interrupted. "Since you gave him that scarf as a sign of friendship, Light has never left your side. Even after you disappeared, his heart still was with you. He has helped you achieve your dream in every was possible. He has uncomplainingly and unquestioningly remained true to you. He does all this because, aside from being altruistic to a fault, he considers you a valuable friend. You owe him a debt of gratitude that will be difficult to repay. And the moment he wants to do something that you don't, you spit in the face of all of that and decide to stop it. Do you understand how you sound right now? You acknowledge you're being selfish right now, but that shouldn't be just something you accept and move on. If you can acknowledge that you're selfish, then you should try and act better than that. Because you are better than that!"

"I…really have been a bad friend to him, haven't I?" Fennix asked. "But Pops, what do I do about this pain? How do I stop from felling so jealous that he knows something that I don't? Because I don't want to feel like a terrible friend like that either."

"It is as I said before," Carracosta said in a more comforting voice. "Pain is a part of life. The reason you feel pain right now is because you care. You hate the idea that Pokémon who were so important to your past life have been forgotten so easily. You feel jealous because Light is able to experience a remembrance you don't. These feelings, while not exactly common, are natural. Remember, it was you who accepted that negative emotions are a natural part of who we are. Therefore, I expect you to accept these emotions as well instead of running away from them. Otherwise, you have learned nothing."

"I…guess I did say that," Fennix said. "B-but how do I deal with this pain. It just hurts so much. And it's just going to get worse and worse."

"First off, take deep breaths," Carracosta said. "If you keep worrying about the pain, it will lead you to hysteria."

So Fennix did so, breathing in and out slowly for a few seconds. And, as her father said, she did feel her head clear up a little and her nerves loosen. However, she could still feel the weight and pain on her heart.

"Thanks but…it still hurts," Fennix said.

"Of course it does," Carracosta said. "The pain will not go away so easily. It is a part of you that you will continue to feel so long as you have the ability to feel. But taking deep breaths will calm you down and prevent you from thinking irrationally. Now, are you calm?"

Fennix closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths. After half-a-minute, she spoke again. "Y-yeah," she said. "I think so."

"Now, I want you to focus on something," Carracosta said. "Find something to focus on that overrides the pain. Find some way to continue going that makes it worth the pain. I gave you three reasons earlier, but you may also find a reason yourself if you so wish. But whatever it is, make sure it's powerful. Something you want more than anything."

"A powerful want," Fennix said. She thought about it for a few seconds. "I…want to learn about these Pokémon. I want to make sure their memory isn't lost. That nobody else forgets about them. I really want that but…"

Fennix flinched as she felt another pain on her heart. "…I forgot about them. I can't remember them. And even thinking that…makes it hurt."

"Then find something else," Carracosta said.

"I want…Light!" Fennix said, her eyes opening up. "I got it!" she said with a bounce and a smile. "I always have fun going on adventures with Light! It's so fun exploring the world with him, chatting with him, he's such an amazing Pokémon! He makes exploring that much funner! So I should focus on the fact that I'm going on an adventure with Light! That'll help, right?"

"That depends," Carracosta said. "How do you feel right now?"

She stood up and placed a paw on her heart. "This still hurts. It really hurts. I feel terrible for not remembering any of Mew's old allies. But…when I think of traviling with Light, how much we laugh and smile together…it doesn't really hurt as much. So if I just keep doing that, I'm sure I can make it on this adventure! I can find all of our old allies! I can make sure they're remembered! I just need to focus on having a fun time with Light!"

"Good, so you have learned something," Carracosta said. "Though there is still one thing you're forgetting."

"There is?!" Fennix asked. "But I thought I got everything!"

Carracosta chuckled. "Remember, Light is remembering the things you've forgotten. So when the time comes, when you're ready to discuss it, talk with him sometimes. Listen to what he has to say about your old friends. Regardless of whether you're jealous or not. He didn't choose to remember your old friends any more than you chose to forget them. But he has, and you can use that to learn more about them. He might be able to help your pain if you listen to him."

"Alright, alright, I get it, Pops," Fennix said.

"Good," Carracosta said. "If you 'get it' as you said, then prove it. I await to hear all about your Expedition next time you're in Serene Village."

Fennix stood up completely. "I will!" she said with a determined look on her face. "I'll go right back to the Expedition Society right now, apologize to Light, and we'll get right on that."

Fennix began scurrying off to leave, but was stopped by her father's loud voice. "Where do you think you're going?" Carracosta asked.

Fennix looked back questioningly. "To the Expedition Society. You know, to get back to work? Did you forget what we just talked about already, Pops? Geez, you're getting old!"

"I am not old, and you are not leaving right now!" Carracosta commanded. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Uhh…" Fennix took a quick look outside to see that it was pitch black out there. "What the…it's night?!" Fennix asked.

"You really weren't paying attention to anything, we're you?" Carracosta asked. "It's the middle of the night."

"Wait…if it was the middle of the night, then why were you awake and cooking?" Fennix asked.

"A father's intuition," Carracosta said. Fennix gave him a look of pure disbelief. "That…and Espurr warned me. She sensed you coming and sensed that you were depressed about something, so she told me."

"Oh…really?" Fennix asked. "I'll have to thanks Espurr later."

"Yes, you do," Carracosta said. "For now, though, sleep here tonight. I'll escort you back to Lively Town tomorrow."

* * *

Light sat on his straw bed in his crew room watching the morning sun rise up. His eyes burned and he was more than sure that he had bags under them from another sleepless night. However, despite those physical feelings, he was both calm and smiling. As the sun turned dark blue to cream and brought light to the world, Light felt his own heart lift up.

 _It took long enough, but I think I've got an answer,_ Light thought. _Fennix, I'm ready for you whenever you get back._

So, with a contented sigh, Light got up off his bed and brushed the straw off his fur. He stretched, letting the tension in his muscles relax, before turning to exist his room. He took a left and walked to the meeting hall of the guild where he waited with the rest of the currently scattered and disorganized members of the Expedition Society, all waiting for their chief to come in and give the morning announcements.

Light lazily glazed over each of the members currently there, not really interesting in the various conversation going on, but rather just watching them to pass the time. He had no haste, expecting nothing of interest to happen that day, and was willing to just stand there until they were supposed to get in line. And he continued those expectations until his eyes glanced over at the entrance to see yellow and orange fur. He paid the bundle of fur no mind at first, until a few seconds later when realization hit him, and he quickly snapped his head back. His second glance proved he wasn't crazy and his mouth widened in a smile.

"Fennix!" Light shouted joyfully as he ran up to his Partner and wrapped her in a hug.

"Heh, geez Light, miss me much?" Fennix asked. "Or were you worried about me?"

"Nah, Espurr sent a telepathic message to me, telling me you made it," Light said, finally breaking the hug and backing off a bit to give her space. "I'm just surprised to see you here so early. You spent, what, a day there?"

"Less," Fennix said. "I got there by the middle of the night and left as soon as I woke up the next day."

"Guess the walk must've cleared your head more than getting to Serene Village," Light guessed.

Fennix shook her head before giving Light a cheerful smile. "Nope. I've just got the best Pops in the world. We talked and he really helped me clear my head up a bit." Fennix's cheerful smile turned to a guilty smile. "Sorry for running off like that. I just…really needed to think through some things."

Light nodded understandingly. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I've come up with a decision myself. Do you mind if we head to the guild rooms where we can talk about it?"

Fennix looked at him with a surprised expression. "You…what?" Fennix asked.

Light chuckled. "Just follow me," he said.

"And what of morning announcements?" Fennix asked.

Light looked around until his gaze caught Mawile's. When their gazes locked, Mawile nodded understandingly in his direction. Light then turned back to a confused Fennix and gave her a smile, suggesting that everything was okay.

"A-alright I guess," Fennix said. "Let's go."

So Light took her back to their room where they could talk privately. While walking, Light had a spring in his step while Fennix's paws patted across the ground hesitantly. The pikachu could hear that easily, but hoped that what he was about to say would put a spring into her own step.

"Alright, we're here," Fennix said as they both entered their room. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I've been thinking ever since you left," Light started. "Do you remember what Hubert told me? After we first fought? He told me I should find a compromise between your happiness and mine. I…want to keep going with this Expedition. I know you might not, but I do. So…I want to compromise."

"What do you mean by compromise?" Fennix asked.

"…You don't have to go with me on these Expedition," Light said. "If it hurts so much, you can just stay here or maybe find a different Expedition. Heck, Mawile can read the ancient script too, so you don't even need to do that for me. I'll learn about our old friends and find out who the 'One Who Remembers' is. And…if you ever want me to talk about them sometime later, when it hurts less, I'll do that for you. But if it hurts now, I don't want to keep hurting you."

"Wow…you've really thought of everything, haven't you?" Fennix asked. "Bet you even talked to Mawile about this."

Light sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Well…you know. I just wanted us both to be happy."

"Well too bad for you, it wasn't needed," Fennix said. "I'm fine with continuing this Expedition!"

Light took a step back in shock. "I…what?"

"Remember Dark Matter?" Fennix asked. "Back then, I accepted that all emotions, including the negative ones we don't like, are a part of us. I'd be a hypocrite if I stopped going on this Expedition just because of a little pain. Besides…"

Fennix looked to the ground. "I need to know. Even if it hurts a lot, I need to know who Mew's old allies are. I need to pass on their legacy, or their names will die to history. And I…can't let that happen. Even if it tears me apart, I can't let that happen."

"Maybe…don't let it tear you apart," Light said, worry in his voice. "If you ever feel like taking a break during this, warn me, okay? This might be a lot to take in."

"It will be," Fennix said. "It already has. Shaymuflore…Puriah…no matter how hard I try, their names aren't familiar to me. Nothing you say about them are familiar. And I'm sure the next two won't be either. Heck, I can't even remember a lot of the things you said about yourself, like the fact that your name isn't actually Light. It sucks not remembering any of them. But…

Fennix gave Light her largest smile. "I've got the most awesome friend in the world next to me! And with you around, I don't have to worry about it hurting that much! I'm not giving up, Light! So please…let's keep going!"

Light sighed, but smiled. "Alright. Just be careful."

"I will," Fennix promised. "Now let's head back into the meeting room before we miss morning announcements."

"Then we'll talk with Mawile," Light said. "She's already deciphered the next clue for me, so she'll point us in the right direction."

"Alright, let's do it!" Fennix said cheerfully.

She and Light both spun around so that their tails slapped against the other. They both smiled at each other before walking off back to the meeting room. While they were walking, Light looked over at his partner, feeling even happier seeing her happy face.

 _Even if it'll still hurt, I'm glad you're still willing to work with me,_ Light thought. _Learning about my past just wouldn't be the same without you._


	18. The Balance of Life and Death

"The irony is not lost on me," Light snarked as he set foot in a forest filled with tall blades of grass and trees that reach up beyond the clouds.

"Yeah, we seem to be shifting back and forth on who wants to do this and who doesn't?" Fennix said with a nervous chuckle.

Light closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steel his nerves. "Yeah, but I'm not stopping just because we're here," Light said calmly. "I'm in it if you are."

"Well, I hope you two are," Mawile said. She was walking around with a journal in her left hand and a pencil in her right hand, examining the area and writing in her journal about it. "I'm quite interested in where this goes."

"Still, why did the next clue have to point us towards the Tree of Life of all places?" Light asked. "I doubt Mew or me really went here until the end of our adventure, considering this place was probably filled with Dark Matter's minions."

"Perhaps we're not going to the place you first met," Mawile said. "Perhaps we're going to someplace significant to them. Or maybe there's another reason as to why we're here. We won't know until we reach the tree."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Light said. "Let's head into Primeval Forest."

So they walked into the forest. Primeval Forest had trees covering the entire sky, leaving no room for sunlight to filer on through the leaves. However, despite this, there was still some sort of light that prevented the forest from being dark at all. The flora and fauna around were large as well, with some blades of grass being taller than the three Expedition Society walking through the place. A thick dew could be found on all of the plants, despite it being the mid-afternoon. Mawile examined it all fervently before writing it all down in her notes.

"Interesting," she said. "To think it was only a few short months ago when Dark Matter had a hold on this place. It's already brimming with life once again. The proximity this island has with the Tree of Life must allow the flora and fauna to grow faster and larger than normal plants."

"Having fun, Mawile?" Light asked.

Mawile closed her book for a second to look at Light. "I apologize," Mawile said. "I am sure you two want to move at a brisk pace to get this event over with as soon as possible. But there is much to discover in this forest. Ampharos described what he saw along with the rest of you well enough, but what he saw was a dying Primeval Forest. It's fascinating seeing not only what is here in the now, but also the contrast between what Ampharos described and what it looks like fully revived."

"I…guess so," Light said. "It looked like just another forest when we were first here but now…I feel almost tiny compared to everything else. Like I shrunk or something."

"It certainly evokes that feeling," Mawile said. "I also feel as if I've been transported to a different time. Some of the flowers here and a few of the berries are ones that have not been seen anywhere else for thousands of years. Take…" Mawile looked around for a bit, until she found a balloon shaped berry on the ground that had a white question-mark shape on its skin, "this one, for example. This berry was once known as an Enigma Berry. They haven't been around for many generations. This is the only place I have ever seen any of them."

"Wonder what some of these berries taste like," Fennix said, licking her lips as she looked around.

Light looked at her and chuckled. "Hasn't Carracosta ever told you not to eat strange berries you find off the ground. And I'm pretty sure a berry called Enigma Berry classifies as strange."

"Since when did you become my Pops?" Fennix asked.

"Never," Light said as a chuckle. "Even as a human I don't think I was that much older than you. Let alone your Pops age. Doesn't mean I can't be the responsible one around here."

"You say responsible, I hear boring," Fennix said.

"Then you might want to get your ears cleared out," Light said. "Or all that ear-fur is making your hearing weird. Take your pick, you might want to fix that."

"And who asked you?" Fennix asked.

"Well, I'm sure if I asked your Pops, he'd ask me to take care of you," Light said. "So there you go."

"Well, I've gathered enough data around here," Mawile said without any acknowledgement of the conversation that was going on. Light looked back at her to see she was once again writing in her book. "We should move on now to the Tree of Life."

"Yeah, we should," Light said. "Let's move on."

As Primeval Forest had no Mystery Dungeon anymore, thanks in part to it being restored to its former glory, the walk to the Tree of Life was a rather short one compared to all the other walks that they had recently. It wasn't long until they reached a clearing and saw the giant, rainbow-colored tree that went as tall as the sky. And standing in the clearing was the Legendary Pokémon, Xerneas.

"Light, Fennix, you two are here," Xerneas said. "Welcome back to the Tree of Life. I see you brought a guest as well."

"Sorry if I'm intruding," Mawile said, closing her book once more. "When the clue brought those two here, I came as well to see. I was interested in seeing what Primeval Forest and the Tree of Life looked completely restored. I'm otherwise here to ensure there are no mistranslations."

"Mistranslations?" Xerneas asked. "So, you are talking about what I think you are. I figured you'd be here for that eventually."

"Yeah," Fennix said. "Me and Light are both on an Expedition to find out who his and Mew's old allies are. We know about Shaymuflore and Puriah already, but according to someone called the 'One Who Remembers' or something like that, there are two more. And we're also searching for that guy too. Or maybe she's a girl, we really don't know."

"He's likely a guy, though it's overall hard to tell," Mawile said. "'Reminiscor', which translates to 'the One Who Remembers', is more of a title than anything that we can use to find gender. However, in the first slate you brought back, they referred to themselves using masculine pronouns in the Ancient Language, so they're more likely male than female."

"Alright, then we're searching for that guy," Fennix said. "I'm guessing he placed a tablet here but…"

"Made me promise to tell either of you about his identity?" Xerneas finished for her. "Yes, he did. Quite presumptuous, he was, demanding a Legendary Pokémon to swear to secrecy. Even if I don't resort to combat as much as my fellow colleges, a mysterious Pokémon coming here and making demands is not a Pokémon I let walk around for long. However, after he explained his reasoning, I accepted it."

"His reasoning?" Light asked.

"He mentioned Clover," Xerneas said. "That was enough for me to trust him."

"'Clover?'" Fennix asked, completely lost. "The plant? Why would a random plant make you trust him?"

While Fennix was lost, Mawile's eyes were opened wide. "Wait…is it possible?" Mawile asked. "Clover…as a name that sounds familiar. Is it possible he mentioned Clover the Adventurer?"

Light and Fennix both turned their eyes to Mawile in confusion. "Who's Clover the Adventurer?" Light asked.

"Clover the Adventurer is a children's story for shaymin," Mawile explained. "The story talks about a nomadic shaymin who used to go on adventures all throughout the world. Her adventures are supposed to inspire the children to see the world for themselves. Some shaymin don't even believe that Clover actually existed, but those that believe Clover existed also believe that following her adventures will lead to finding her treasure."

"I hope they aren't still looking for it," Xerneas said. "Clover's treasure has already been claimed. It was claimed a few years ago by a shaymin that was part of an Exploration Team."

"Then was Clover's treasure here?" Mawile asked.

"Clover herself was here," Xerneas said. "But I'll explain more about that later. For now, the tablet…" Xerneas pointed to the area to the left of the Tree of Life, "you will find it over there."

Light, Fennix, and Mawile all walked over to the area Xerneas pointed to and found circle of different flowers with a gravestone in at the end. As soon as the trio saw the gravestone, they paused for a moment. The markings on it were still too small from their current distance, but the implications were clear. On the flowers and in front of the gravestone was the stone tablet, the one they were looking for. There were only a few things that could mean.

Fennix moved first, walking across the field of flowers and over to the gravestone, ignoring the tablet for a few moments. She quickly read the gravestone out loud. "'Here lies Clover, who had lived during the time where humans walked the earth, the last surviving of the first companions of Mew, a champion against Dark Matter, and a great friend. May she find peace in the great adventure after death.'"

"…So, that really is Clover's grave," Light said.

"It's not too surprising," Mawile said as calmly as possible. "Even Mythical Pokémon, who have longer lives than most other Pokémon, don't live forever. For someone to lived thousands of years, it's unsurprising that she died eventually."

"I…know that but…" Light said, but he trailed off at the end.

"I-I got the tablet," Fennix said, walking back with it on her back. She placed it in front of everybody. "I'll start reading it. Mawile, if you would?"

Mawile nodded. "Yeah, I'll make sure you've got everything correct, to the best of my knowledge."

Fennix took a deep breath and began reading. "'These are the archives of…Reminiscor, the last who knows of the events that happened in the ancient past. This archive is on the third ally of Mew, a shaymin who has had adventures all over the world, known as the Lucky Adventurer.'"

"Clover the Adventurer, in other words," Mawile corrected. "Clover meant the same thing as Lucky in the Ancient Language."

"Thanks," Fennix said before she continued reading. "'Before her meeting with Mew, Clover had lived a long time. She lived back in the time when humans once co-existed with humans and continued to live in this time. However, she didn't let the passing of the eras diminish her fire. Despite many generations passing through her eyes and having lived through the end of an era, she stayed strong and just.'"

"'She first met Mew and the human during their first task with…Shaymuflore, as the three appealed to the shaymin in order to restore the Village of Brown Fields and allow the crops to grow. At the time, she was busy visiting some friends and didn't pay them much mind. After they had already left, though, and as she heard about the visitors, she became curious. So she tried to figure out what the Mythical Pokémon and human were doing, and eventually found out that the Legendary Pokémon sent them on their missions hoping that they would fail. And their next mission involved quelling the sea raiders. After hearing that, she quickly flew off to try and find Mew, the human, and the rest of their crew to help them.'"

"The…sea raiders?" Fennix asked, looking up from the chunk of stone. "What the heck is that? Am I wrong about what it says or…?"

"Pirates would be a better word for it," Mawile said. "It's still a word that's around today, but used much less. Back a very long time ago, hundreds of years ago if archeological evidence is to be believed, ships made of wood were used to travel across the seas to visit and trade with other continents. At that time, outlaws would also use their own ships to attack those ships and steal their supplies and money. Those outlaws were known as pirates. Evidence suggests they were quite the terrors back in the day."

"Really?" Fennix asked. "What happened to them?"

"They disappeared along with ships pretty much," Mawile said. "We're not entirely sure yet why ships disappeared and the continents became isolated for a while. We only know what history told us about them. But without ships to raid, pirates themselves became scarce. Nowadays, trade between continents happen through air travel or through the 'Kecleon's Market Secret Trade' and most Pokémon travel across the sea by aid of a Water-type, like through the Lapras Liner, so pirates have nothing to ambush or steal on the waters."

"…The word 'pirates' feels…odd to me," Light mused.

Mawile and Fennix both turned to Light at his sudden exclamation. "What do you mean?" Mawile asked.

"I'm…not entirely sure," Light admitted. "I can't really place my feelings about it, but that word has some sort of…meaning to me. I'm just not sure what it is. I don't feel like it's either…bad or good either. Which is odd."

"Perhaps you're remembering something about the fight against the pirates that we aren't," Mawile said.

"Maybe," Light said. He eventually closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, never mind. It's not important," the pikachu eventually said. "Keep reading, Fennix."

Fennix nodded before looking back at the tablet. "'Clover, with her many years of experience, became a sort of leader of the crew, to the chagrin of Mew. The two had a rivalry and many disagreements with each other during their adventures. However, when the time was right, Clover still took a near fatal blow for him in the war against Dark Matter that forced her adventures to come to an end."

"She…risked her life for Mew?" Fennix asked.

"Yes, and it cost her drastically."

Light and Mawile looked over their own shoulders while Fennix looked up and they saw Xerneas looking over them. "The attack nearly killed Clover," Xerneas said. "She was just barely able to hold on until Dark Matter's temporary defeat. At that point, I was revived and was able to heal her. However, the scars were forever cast, and she was unable to leave the Tree of Life for any extended periods of time without dying."

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," Fennix said. "I would have never even imagined something like that would have happened. And, if what I read is right, she and Mew fought so much too. But in the end, she gave up her ability to adventure all to save him."

"There's more to the story then just that, but that's beside the point," Xerneas said. "And do not feel sorrow. Clover resigned herself to her fate. It was a blow, certainly, but after a while the only regret she had was that she couldn't find someone to pass her legacy onto, and that regret was quelled recently. She died happy."

"You keep saying things like 'someone got her treasure recently' or 'she had no regrets recently'," Light pointed out. "Does that mean she also…died recently?"

"Her life energy was tied to the Tree of Life," Xerneas said. "As such, when the Tree of Life itself was dying…she did as well."

"S-she did?" Fennix asked, tears in her eyes.

"Are you ok, Fennix?" Light asked.

"I…I just," Fennix mumbled. "N-no, let's worry about that later. L-Light, what do you think? Do you remember anything about Clover?"

"Same as usual," Light said. "You're completely right on the whole leader thing. I do remember her being very knowledgeable and a great leader. Yeah, her and Mew fought over that a lot, since Mew thought of himself as the leader of the group. I…think it was me and Shaymuflore that usually ended up breaking up their fights."

"I wonder what Clover thought of Mew in the end," Fennix mused. She looked up at Xerneas for an answer.

"I apologize," Xerneas said. "Clover and I mostly discussed current events that were going on in the world. What happened during the first battle against Dark Matter was not something either of us talked about much. So I can't tell you much about her thoughts on that."

"I…guess," Fennix said in a sad voice. Her head looked to the ground and her ears flopped as well.

Light walked over to his Partner's side and placed a paw on her shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, Clover wasn't really the type to hold grudges," Light said. "She might have been mad at first, but I don't think she hated Mew in the end."

"Sorry Light, but that doesn't," Fennix said. "I…wish I could say it does but…I can't really blame her for being mad. I know I'd be mad if I were forced to quit adventuring."

"Even if it was because you took an attack for me?" Light asked.

Fennix shook her head. "T-that's different. You're my best friend. Those two…hated each other."

"No, they definitely didn't," Light said with certainty in his voice.

Fennix looked up at him in surprise, her eyes wet with tears. "W-what do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't remember a whole lot about the Ancient Past, and am still sort of figuring things out, but Clover stayed with us the entire journey," Light said. "She never left once, despite the arguments she may have had with Mew over leadership. And in the end, she still took a fatal attack for Mew. She saved his life despite their arguments. So I don't think she hated him. They just had their disagreements."

"That's a rather mature way of thinking of things," Mawile chimed in. Both Light and Fennix raised their heads to look at the Steel/Fairy-type. "We don't have an exact knowledge of history and likely never will. Much of history is shrouded in darkness. And even if we had enough evidence to find out each event that happened historically, we still don't have the exact perspective of the Pokémon living at that time and why they made the decisions they made. We can construct guesses, but in the end they are only that. Conjecture. Not fact."

"In other words?" Fennix asked.

"In other words, we don't know what exactly transpired between Clover and Mew," Mawile said. "We don't know exactly what they argued about other than 'leadership disagreements,' we don't know how much it meant to either of them, all we know is what Reminiscor told us. So I wouldn't worry too much about whether they hated each other or not. In the end, we know one fact for sure. Clover was willing to take what could have been a fatal blow for Mew. That speaks more volumes for their relationship in the end then any possible argument does."

"T-thanks Mawile," Fennix said. Light also gave her a nod to express his thanks.

"It's no problem," Mawile said. "Instead, let this be a lesson to you for your work in the future. Never take history at face value, as we only know so much about it. Also, learn from history, so that we can avoid it being repeated. Remember these two for the future."

"I will," Fennix said.

"Anyways," Light said, "you up for heading straight to the next clue, or do you want to take a little break?"

"I-I'll be fine," Fennix said. "It hurts, but I don't want to stop now. I'm determined to find everyone as soon as possible. Only one more Pokémon to go, right?"

Light nodded. "Yeah, right."

"Then Fennix, if you could read the next clue," Mawile said.

Fennix looked back at the tablet and continued reading. "'You are nearly done, you who holds the spirit of Mew. You have but one ally remaining to find. If you wish to find them, you must find the place where the currents of the sea and sky converge. There, your last clue will be waiting for you.'"

"The…currents of the sea and sky?" Light asked. "What does that mean?"

Both Light and Fennix looked up at Mawile, hoping their superior would know something about the clue. Mawile herself seemed to be in deep thought, likely thinking about what the clue meant herself. So the pikachu and fennekin waited patiently for her to come up with some sort of answer.

"The currents of the sea and sky likely mean the wind and water currents," Mawile said. "So we're looking for a place where water currents and the wind all converge together."

"Which is…?" Fennix asked.

"Outside the area of my expertise," Mawile said. "That would be a question for Buizel and Archen. We'll have to go back to the Society building and ask those two for help."

"Alright, we'll do that, then," Light said. He grabbed the slate and placed it in his bag before looking up at Xerneas. "Thanks for everything, Xerneas."

"I did very little aside from let you come here and explain a few things, but you're welcome," Xerneas said. "I hope you have success in whatever you are doing."

The three nodded before they all began their walk back to where Lapras was waiting for them on the other end of Primeval Forest. However, Light made his steps intentionally slow and waited for Fennix and Mawile to walk out of listening range. Once he saw that they were sufficiently far away, he turned back around and looked at Xerneas.

"Quick…question Xerneas," Light said hesitantly. "Is there…any way, like during this quest or sometime in the future or if something else happens or…"

"You might wish to get to your point before your friends figure out you're not following them," Xerneas said.

"Sorry," Light said. "Is there…any way for Fennix to disappear again? Like if she regains all her memories of Mew or something like that?"

"She seemed not to recognize any of the information she was just given," Xerneas pointed out.

"Yeah…I know, I'm being paranoid," Light admitted. "Fennix hasn't remembered anything like I have. And it's probably not going to happen anyways. I'm…sort of glad about that, even though I know how much that hurts her. But on the off chance that happens well…"

"I will tell you this then," Xerneas said. "Even if Fennix were to regain her memories of Mew, and even if she were to somehow regain Mew's full powers, she would not disappear. Fennix disappeared at first due to Mew being a part of Dark Matter when he reincarnated to her. Fennix herself is a new spirit, completely free of Dark Matter's influence. No, Fennix is unlikely to disappear in the same manor that first separated you."

Light took a deep breath and felt his heart lift up a little, tears welling up in his eyes. "T-thanks, Xerneas," Light said. "You don't know how much of a relief that is."

"You haven't changed much," Xerneas mumbled to himself. "Still loyal to a fault. I suppose if anyone could make Mew see the error of his ways, it had to be you?"

"What was that?" Light asked.

Xerneas shook his head. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Now, I'd recommend returning to your friends."

"Yeah, I will," Light said with a nod. "Thanks for everything Xerneas."

Light turned around and quickly ran on his four legs to catch up with the rest of his friends.


	19. Memories of Their Shared Pasts

It was the evening after Mawile, Fennix, and Light returned from the Expedition after everybody had already eaten their dinner. Buizel and Archen, having been informed by Light and Fennix, waited at the table with the other three to hear them out. So Mawile explained the situation to them.

"So you're saying you need some sort of place where sea currents and the wind collide?" Buizel asked.

"That's what our current clue seems to be saying," Mawile answered. "Do either if you have any insight on what this clue might mean?"

"That's…not going to be an easy place to find," Archen said. "There are several places where winds converge and probably a bunch of places where currents converge, but for two of them to happen together…"

"There are definitely places currents converge," Buizel said. "I've been to a few of them myself. The Surrounded Sea off the southwestern coast of the Grass Continent, the Ocean Tempest in the Sea of Wonders. Those places are full of treasures from all over the world thanks to the currents bringing them. But a place where both happen…hmm…"

"If it helps, you have full access to the Nexus," Mawile said. "So you can compare notes and see if you can find something."

"Yeah, we'll check it out," Buizel said. "Give us until the morning, and hopefully we'll find your next location."

"Thank you, Buizel, Archen," Mawile said. "I hope you guys manage to find the right spot."

Buizel and Archen walked off on their way out of the room and their pawsteps and clawsteps could be heard walking through the hallway and upstairs. Eventually, the sound faded and disappeared as they made it to their destination. Once they were gone, Light, Fennix, and Mawile looked at each other.

"I suppose I should have expected this to take some time," Mawile said. "However, I'll admit, I'm interested in where this research takes us."

"What do you mean?" Light asked.

"As Buizel said, places where the waters currents converge are filled with treasure," Mawile explained. "They also have objects wash up of great archeological significance. Objects from all locations and all eras have the possibility of washing up there, and if they can be restored, they can tell us much. I might have to go to whatever location you guys find and investigate it myself sometime."

"Wait, you're not going with us?" Fennix asked.

"I normally would, but I feel it'd be better if Buizel and Archen go with you first," Mawile said. "They'll be more helpful than I ever would for whatever particular location they might find. Besides, I want to look over the slate found at the Tree of Life just in case." Mawile looked directly at Fennix. "Not that I doubt your translation. From what I could see, you got most things right. I'm more interested in seeing them all together. Seeing if there are any clues that having them combined could give us. I've already gathered a few ideas as to who Reminiscor might be, and am curious to see which of them is correct."

"…Ok?" Light said with uncertainty in his voice.

Mawile chuckled. "Never you two mind," she said. "You'll find out soon enough. For now, I'll be off with this tablet. Just in case you're looking for me."

Mawile picked up the stone slate and walked off with it. Like with Buizel and Archen, Light and Fennix watched her as she walked off until she disappeared from view. With her gone, they looked at each other.

"So, shall we head to our room?" Light asked Fennix.

"Sure," his Partner answered.

The two walked away from the table themselves and went straight to their rooms. Fennix, as usual for the nights, went straight to her journal and began writing in it with a smoking twig. Light, as usual, went straight to his bed and laid down in it. As such they began their nightly routine of Fennix writing in her journal and Light soothing himself to sleep with the sound of her writing. However, tonight Light had other thoughts he wanted to get off his chest.

"Hey…Fennix?" Light asked.

"Yeah?" Fennix answered, her eyes still on her paper.

"I…talked with Xerneas before we left the Tree of Life," Light said. "And I asked him…the question I had on my mind all this time."

"Whether I'd disappear or not?" Fennix asked.

"Y-yeah," Light said. "Sorry. I know, me being so paranoid about that is kinda bad, considering you haven't remembered anything this entire journey, but I still had to ask. I just...had to know."

"…It's alright," Fennix said. She chuckled. "Actually, it's kinda funny. Here I am, accepting the fact that I'm never going to remember anything from my past. Hurt that I've lost those memories and they'll never return. And here you are, still worrying about that."

"I don't think 'funny' is the right word," Light said. "But whatever."

"No, it probably isn't," Fennix said with a sigh. "Sorry. What did you find out?"

"It's…nothing to worry about," Light announced, a smile creeping on his face as he said it. "Even if you regain your memories, heck even if you somehow get Mew's full power back, you won't disappear. It's only thanks to Mew being a part of Dark Matter that you disappeared in the first place."

"Good to know, I guess," Fennix said.

Light rubbed the back of his head. "So…sorry," Light said. "The reason I've been so afraid of going to Xerneas this entire time is because I didn't want you to suddenly regain any memories and disappear again. But if we did well…this Expedition might be over already and you wouldn't need to be in pain anymore."

Fennix stopped writing and put out her twig to look at Light. "L-Light…you really don't need to apologize for that," Fennix said. "I mean, if you disappeared the same way, I'd probably do the same thing. Besides, we would have ended up going on this quest anyways, and it'd still hurt right now."

"There's…something else about Clover that's hurting you, isn't there?" Light asked.

"Heh, am I that obvious?" Fennix asked, her nose pointing to the ground and ears drooping. "I just…Clover was alive until just a few months ago. She only just died. She and I were both living separate lives thousands of miles away from each other. Heck, you were probably in this world for a few weeks before she died too. But…she died before we could meet her."

"I…get what you're saying," Light said. "Granted, meeting her back then wouldn't have been that meaningful, but still. Knowing what I know about her now…I wish I met her too. I wish she could have met us after all these years."

"And I wish I could have apologized to her for Mew," Fennix said. "I don't know if she would have forgiven me but…"

"I think she would have," Light said. "You've changed a lot since you were Mew."

Fennix looked up. "Oh yeah, that reminds me," Fennix said. "You've mentioned several times that you're remembering all of your old allies."

"It's not much, but yeah," Light said, sitting up as he figured this conversation would last a while. "I have been remembering a few things here and there about our allies. Why?"

"…What about Mew?" Fennix asked. "Do you remember anything about him?"

"Bits and pieces," Light said. "Anything specific you want to know?"

"Just…you mentioned that Mew and I are different," Fennix said. "I mean, I sort of knew that already, but how different are we?"

"Do you really want to know?" Light asked.

"You make it sound like there's something bad," Fennix mentioned.

Light looked to the sky and thought about things for a few seconds. "No, it's not like that, exactly," Light said. "I just…want you to make sure you're ready just in case I say something you don't like."

Fennix laughed. "Really? Do you have to ask that?"

Light chuckled as well. "I suppose not."

He looked back down at Fennix. "The most obvious difference between you and Mew is how…authentic you are."

Fennix tilted her head. "Authentic?" she asked.

"Yeah," Light said with a nod. "Mew tried to play the leader part as best he could but…he wasn't really built to be the whole leader type. I always felt like he was holding back a large part of himself to keep from looking too 'childish.' I'm not completely sure, but I'd like to think Mew would act more like you if he didn't hold himself back: playful but kind-hearted."

"Really?" Fennix asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Light said. "Again, it's hard to remember. But I feel like…I sort of know you better than I knew Mew. The real you."

"Wonder why Mew acted like that," Fennix said thoughtfully.

"Might be what the time was like," Light said. "Maybe something happened that made Mew feel like he needed to be a leader or something. I don't know. I'm not sure whether Mew told me or not, but if he did, I can't remember."

"Alright," Fennix said. "Anything else you remember?"

"Mew also didn't trust other Pokémon that easily," Light said. "Might have had something to do with the possibility that everyone we interacted with could have been controlled by Dark Matter, but it took a lot of convincing to get Mew to let any of our allies go with us. The only ones he really trusted were me and Puriah eventually."

"We really are different," Fennix mused.

"Well, that was the point of being reincarnated into you," Light pointed out. "Mew needed to do something drastic to accept Dark Matter, and you're that drastic change."

"Anything else?" Fennix asked.

Light thought for a few seconds before shaking his head. "I can't think of anything else," he admitted. "There's still a lot I can't remember and what I can feels so…fragmented. Sorry."

"No, that's ok!" Fennix said quickly. "You told me a whole bunch about Mew! So thanks! Even if it wasn't…. the best things to hear."

"Mew wasn't too bad," Light said. "Just like you, he had a good enough heart. He just…you know. Dark Matter was a stressful time for him and that's why he acted the way he did."

"I told you before, Light, it's okay," Fennix said. "I know that my past life wasn't the greatest Pokémon around. I'm glad to learn anything I can, regardless."

Fennix turned around and was about to begin writing again when she suddenly snapped back, wide-eyed. "Oh yeah, what about you?" Fennix asked.

Light tilted his head in confusion. "Me?" he asked. "What about me?"

"What were you like back in the past?" Fennix asked.

Light continued tilting his head for a few seconds. Eventually, he closed his eyes to think about things for a few seconds. While he was thinking, though, he still had a confused expression on his face. _I mean, I get what you're asking,_ Light thought. _But…at the same time, it's not a question that's really…easy to answer._

"I'm not really sure," Light admitted. "Honestly, I'm the only person I haven't been remembering much about. Like, I figure I'm not too different now then I was back then, but I don't really…know. I can't even remember what I looked like as a human. It's really odd, to be honest."

"You really don't remember much?" Fennix asked.

"No, sorry," Light said. "It's the oddest thing. All these memories about Mew and all of our old allies, but not much about me. I don't even know how old I was before I became a Pokémon. I…don't know why, either. Was it my choice to lose so many of my memories?"

"I don't know either," Fennix said. "I guess we're both in sort of the same situation."

"Guess so," Light said. The pikachu stretched before lying back down in his bed on his back. "I'm not…in too much of a rush to learn, though. It'll come when it comes and, until then, I'm perfectly fine with how things are now."

"If you say so," Fennix said.

"Besides, tomorrow, we'll find our last ally and maybe even learn who Reminiscor is," Light said. "So I won't keep myself up for too long thinking about it. I'd rather be rested up and ready for tomorrow."

"I guess so," Fennix said. "I'll get some sleep too as soon as I'm done writing in my diary. Night, Light."

Light closed his eyes. "Night, Fennix."

And so, Fennix turned around and began writing in her diary once again. The scratching of her stick against her diary along with the smell of smoke slowly lulled Light deeper and deeper into sleep. It wasn't long before he completely lost consciousness for the night.


	20. Storm on the Horizon

After morning announcements the next day, Light and Fennix met up with Buizel and Archen in front of the Pokémon Nexus to see what the two figured out as to their next location. While Buizel and Archen fiddled with the Pokémon Nexus, Light and Fennix sat by watching. Fennix was attentive in her watch, while Light was feeling sleepy, the blue glow and strange noise from the Nexus soon after waking up slowly putting him back to sleep.

"Alright, here we are," Buizel said, his words snapping Light out of his sleepy stupor.

"So, where are we going?" Fennix asked.

"A place in the Sea of Wonders called the Island of Storms," Buizel said.

"Island of Storms," Light repeated. "Sounds like a fun place."

"For you maybe," Fennix scoffed, oblivious to Light's sarcasm. "Sounds wet and muddy to me."

"It probably is," Archen said. "The Island of Storms is a weather hazard zone. If you can even approach the island with all the currents pulling this way and that, you'll find yourself drenched in rain and dodging lightning from above. It's a dangerous place."

"And let me guess," Light said. "It's the only place that fits Reminiscor's clue?"

"That we know of, anyways," Buizel said. "There are a few other places where water currents gather, but none of those places also has the winds the Isle of Storms has. Unless your guy knows something we don't, that's definitely the place. And I doubt he does, I've mapped the sea currents thousands of times."

"But, he has to get there in order to place the tablet, right?" Archen mentioned. "And the Island of Storms is dangerous for even Exploration Teams. Storms are all over the place, the island is spit by rapid rivers that can sweep away everyone aside from the strongest Water-types, wind gusts that can sweep up all but the heaviest Pokémon, enemy Pokémon, and the Legendary Pokémon Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus make their home there too. And those are three Pokémon you don't want to disturb."

Buizel knocked his flippers together. "Sounds like a good challenge. If one of your tablets are there, then I want in on finding it."

"You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you?" Archen asked.

"Archen, can you think of any other place for us to go?" Light asked.

Archen looked down and shook his head. "Well…no. But he could know something that we don't."

Fennix shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "So far, whoever Reminiscor is, he knows what we either know or can find out. He hasn't given us a clue that we can't find the answer for. We don't know how he knows that, but he does. So if you guys think it's the Island of Storms, then that must be where it is."

"You know there's a lot of rain there, right?" Archen asked. "You yourself said that you hated the idea."

"I don't like the idea, but this is something I need to do," Fennix said. "No matter what challenge, no matter how hard it is, I have to keep going."

"You're that determined, huh," Archen said. "Well…okay. I still think it's a terrible idea, but I'll go with you just to keep you guys safe."

"Alright!" Fennix cheered. "Let's head to the Island of Storms!"

* * *

Just approaching the Island of Storms made it true to its name. As soon as they were within a few leagues to the island, at a point where they would normally see it on the horizon, large gray clouds covered the sun and the waves on the sea grew larger. It wasn't long before the rain began pouring down on all their heads, Fennix reacting first by shivering as soon as her fur got soaked.

"Find a way to keep warm, Fennix," Buizel commanded.

"Y-yeah, I got it," Fennix said.

She immediately cuddled next to Light, to the pikachu's chagrin. "What about me makes me seem like the warmest choice?" Light asked.

"Buizel's fur is too cold and I don't like the feel of feathers," Fennix said. "Plus it'd be awkward around those two."

"And it's less awkward with me?" Light asked.

"It's less awkward for me, anyways," Fennix said. "Might not be for you, but oh well. Doesn't matter much to me."

"I'm so glad about how concerned you are for my well-being," Light snarked.

"You aren't pushing me away," Fennix teased.

"I'm done with this conversation," Light said, crossing his arms.

"Because you're losing?" Fennix asked.

Suddenly lightning flashed in the sky and loud roar of thunder shook the entire sea causing Light and Fennix to push together even closer than before out of surprise. "…Because it's covenant for me too, I guess," Light said, trying to save-face.

"Yeah…sure," Buizel teased. "We believe you."

"We must be getting close," Archen said.

"We might be, but I can't see anything," Lapras complained. "And these waves are starting to get rough."

"Just keep going straight," Buizel said. "And if it gets too rough, I'll take Light and Fennix over to the island."

"And what about me?" Archen asked.

"You can just fly there," Buizel said. Archen didn't even justify that comment with a response, instead glaring at the Water-type. "Kidding, kidding. I'll take you over there as soon as I'm done taking Light and Fennix. I can't carry all three of you at one time."

"I'll try and get close enough on my own," Lapras said. "But thanks for the offer."

"Gee Archen, you weren't kidding, though," Fennix said. "This place is already looking dangerous. And we're not even on the island yet."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Archen said.

"Buizel, Archen, aside from the storms and stuff, do you know anything else about the dungeon?" Light asked. "Like anything that can help us figure out where the tablet might be?"

"No, not really," Buizel said. "I've passed by it a couple of times on my Expeditions, but never really got a chance to actually explore it. As much crap as I give Archen for how worried he is, the place still isn't a place you want to go without some sort of backup. The only thing I know is what I heard from explorers who went there before. This'll be my first time actually setting paw on the island."

"Neither have I," Archen said. "I'm not foolish enough to normally try. I'm only going now to keep you guys safe."

"Aw, I didn't know you cared so much," Buizel teased.

"So, we have no clue where we're going then," Light mused. "That might make things difficult. I kinda want to get on and off that island as soon as possible."

"Preferably before we end up finding any of the Forces of Nature," Archen said. "I'd rather not get in a fight with any of them."

"I'd love to get in a fight with one of them," Buizel said. "I lost against the last Legendary Pokémon I faced, but I've gotten a lot stronger since then. I'm sure I'll be able to take on any of them. Even Thundurus."

"I'd rather it not come to that," Light said. "We don't have the original Harmony Scarves to bail you out this time. And we've never beaten a Legendary without those scarves."

"Hey, there's a first time for everything," Fennix said.

"Well, at least there's somebody else sensible on this team," Archen said, his eyes rolling.

"I have to be," Light said. "One member of Team Rebirth should be sensible."

"Boring, you mean," Fennix said.

Light shrugged. "If boring keeps us alive, then I'm perfectly fine with being boring. If worse comes to worse, I'll fight, but I'd rather not pick a fight against a powerful Pokémon intentionally. I kinda would like to stay alive. I'd rather be bored then dead."

"Alright you guys, we're getting close to the island," Lapras said. "You can finally see it."

Their discussion ended as everyone looked over behind Lapras's head. It was still extremely dark thanks to the black clouds on the horizon, so they could only see flashes of it when the lightning struck, but those frequent flashes revealed what looked to be a war zone. Like many other islands they've visited, this island had a jungle on it, but that was a jungle filled with downed trees that made a mangled mess as far as they could see. There were few trees still standing upright, and those trees had no leaves on them.

"Well…" Light said, breaking the silence as everyone looked at the island. "This is a…place."

"Yeah it's…oh gosh, how horrible!" Fennix said. "How could the Forces of Nature let something like this happen?"

"Thundurus and Tornadus are known for being massive pranksters," Buizel said. "They used to ravage entire regions before, causing crops and berries to be unable to grow. But now they're confined to the island where they can't harm anyone. Landorus keeps them contained there."

"Good to know," Light said. "Does that mean we can trust Landorus to help?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Buizel said. "Finding Landours would be a chore in the first place. Actually getting him to help? He's the nicer of the Forces of Nature, sure, but he's still a Legendary Pokémon and might not be too happy about us trespassing on his island."

"Makes sense," Fennix said. "Every other Legendary Pokémon we've met seems to not like us being around."

"Assuming we don't meet Thudurus and Tornadus, we could try asking Landorus," Archen said. "It'd be better than searching the entire island for one small slate."

"We aren't finding anything right now standing here," Light said. "Let's get on this island and start searching."

Light jumped off first, splashing into the water as he did so. The water was luckily rather warm, and at this distance from the island it reached to the middle of Light's chest. Two more splashes signaled that Archen and Buizel also made their way into the water. He waited for the third splash to signify that Fennix was coming down, but he didn't hear it. After a while, he looked back on Lapras's back and called out.

"Fennix?! You okay?!" Light asked.

"H-how is the water?" Fennix asked.

"It's not cold at all," Light said. "You're fine!"

"Alright, thanks," Fennix said.

The third plop finally happened right next to Light, splashing some water onto his face. Light rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the stinging pain of saltwater hitting the wounds still on his head. He instead looked over at his Partner, who had to paddle in the water to keep afloat and her head above it.

"You ok?" Light asked.

"I'll be fine," Fennix said. "Let's just get over to the island."

So the four of them swam quickly through the water for a few seconds until they reached the island. One Light put one paw on the island, he could immediately feel a difference in the soil. It was a lot courser than normal sand and charged with electricity, so much so that it almost made him spark on contact. His eyes immediately looked towards Buizel and Archen with concern, due to their shared weakness to electricity, but both of them stepped on the shore just fine.

Just in case, though, Light asked, "Are you two okay?"

Buizel gave Light a strange look. "Uhh…no. Why?"

Light put his left paw to the ground. "I can feel the electricity charged in the sand. It's…such a weird feeling, to be honest." Light stood back up. "Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you guys were feeling fine."

"It's probably similar to an Electric Terrain," Buizel suggested. "You can notice it because you're an Electric-type, but we wouldn't unless a Pokémon tried to put us asleep. Normally it's a bit more apparent, but here…" A lightning bolt struck down pretty close to Light's left and everyone else's right, startling all of them. "…I can see why it would still have that effect," Buizel finished after being startled for a few seconds.

"We should all head for the trees!" Archen yelled. "If we stand out here, we'll all be sitting ducks! Let's hurry!"

So everyone made a mad dash for the nearest tree before the next lightning bolt struck down on one of them. They luckily made it in time, as a bolt happened to strike down right where the four of them used to be standing. While the downed trees all over the place did little to help their confidence, they they could at least be safe from the lightning.

"Keep your ears open for any trees that might be falling down!" Archen said. "I know it's hard thanks to all the thunder, but try! And warn the rest of us if you happen to hear it!"

"Yeah, on it," Light and Fennix both said at the same time.

"Fennix, be careful," Buizel said.

"Yeah, I know. I'll stick with Psychic moves," Fennix said. "And I'll…just deal with the cold."

"If you need to rub against me to get warmer, feel free," Light said. "Just warn me, first."

"Thanks."

"For now, we should get searching," Buizel said. "The sooner we find some sort of clue, the better."

Light nodded. "Let's get moving, then."


	21. The Storm is Here

Electricity filled the ground and air, leading everyone's fur to stand on end as they walked through the dense jungle of dead trees. The rain was still as unrelenting as ever and the storm didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Still, Light, Fennix, Buizel, and Archen pressed on regardless, the trees allowing them to avoid the lightning bolts that struck down with impunity.

However, the storm above wasn't the only difficulty they faced on the island. A strong gale started blowing as they walked further into the island, and with that strong gale came branches that constantly pelted them and made it hard to see anything with the wind blowing in their eyes. Light kept his right paw in front of his eyes to help shield him, Buizel and Archen doing the same with their various appendages, while Fennix hugged right behind Light to avoid the wind.

Though the wind wasn't even the last thing they had to deal with. There were also enemy Pokémon everywhere as well. Light saw their first adversary below his arm, a yellow Pokémon he couldn't identify at first, and warned his allies.

"Hey guys, we got a fight!" Light yelled. "I think it's a manetric."

"Great, that's what we needed," Archen said. "An enemy when we can barely see anything."

Light shook his head and removed his arm from his eyes. The pikachu rushed forward, his arms glowing, and slammed both those arms into the manetric in a strong Brick Break attack before it could get the jump on them. Fennix responded as well by summoning a multitude of blue psychic orbs and shooting them all into their enemy. The two attacks were powerful enough to easily take out the manetric.

"Thanks, you two," Buizel said. "As much as I would have loved fighting that manetric, with his type advantage and the wind like it is, it would've been one heck of a fight."

"We should really find some way to go with the wind instead of against it," Archen said.

"Or at least let it blow to our side," Light said. "That way it isn't too hindering."

"No, there's a reason I'm thinking of going with the wind (other than to avoid having it blast in our face all the time)," Archen said. "Remember, we're looking for a place where the wind and currents all come together. So if we follow the wind to wherever on the island it goes, we might find where we're looking for."

"Makes sense, I guess," Buizel said.

"Let's get a little farther inside, first," Light said. "If we follow the wind now, it'll just take us back where we came. I'd rather not have to do that after we've already come all this way."

"It's your health," Archen said.

"It shouldn't be too much farther until we finally reach a point where the wind changes," Light said. "I…think anyways. I hope so."

"I doubt it," Archen said.

"Someone's being a bit of a debby downer," Buizel said.

"Sorry if I don't feel in the brightest of moods after getting hit by a bunch of twigs and branches that rip off my feathers," Archen said. "I'm going to have to do a lot of care to my wings when we get back."

"Sorry, Archen," Fennix apologized. "You didn't have to come with us, so I'm sorry it's causing you so much pain."

"He's just whining," Buizel said. "I'm getting hit too and you don't see me complaining."

"I accept your apology Fennix," Archen said while giving Buizel a look. "I wanted to come to keep you guys safe, so I'll live."

Another lightning bolt struck down right on a tree over everyone's heads, luckily knocking it down in the opposite direction of where everyone was standing. The lightning did startle them for a few seconds. After they got over lightning, Light clicked his mouth.

"I hope you live," Light said. "Because right now, that's not looking likely."

"How in the world did Reminiscor manage to make it through here all on his own?" Fennix asked. "Whoever he is, he must be an amazing explorer."

"Worry about that later," Light said. "For now, let's get moving. I'd rather not end up under a tree."

So the four of them continued on as fast as they could despite the winds blowing directly in their face. Eventually, the finally reached a point in the island where the winds changed directions, this time blowing against their right side. Once that happened, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"So glad we didn't face too many enemies there," Light said. "I would have hated attacking like that too often."

"The wind will still hit us from behind, but at least we can go with it," Archen said. "Shall we?"

"Better than sitting around here," Fennix said. "Let's get moving!"

So with the wind behind their backs, the four Pokémon walked further on through the Island of Storms. Along the way, they had other fights against other wild Pokémon. More manetric, a few excadrill which Buizel was instrumental in taking down, and even a few Flying-types like Fearow and Skarmory. However, the Pokémon that gave them the most trouble, was a dragonite they found along their way.

"Dragonite up in the skies!" Light warned when he saw the large yellow Pokémon flying towards them. "And I think it's coming down with a…whoa!"

Light jumped back as the dragonite attempted to hit him with a powerful Dragon Tail attack, one so powerful that it left a mark on the ground below him. Still, the pikachu felt his heat-rate increase to a rapid pace at the powerful blow, and was unable to do anything for a few seconds. Luckily the rest of the team were able to pick up the slack for him.

Archen summoned a bunch of stones surrounded by a purple aura and threw them at dragonite. The supereffective attack managed to knock it back a bit and let Buizel get in position for his attack. He fired an Ice Beam at dragonite's chest with the expectation that the attack the dragonite was severely weak to would take it out. However, the dragonite's eyes lit up when they saw the white beam of ice heading towards them and wreathed their paw in fire as a response. The Fire Punch attack completely nullified the Ice Beam, leaving everyone to be surprised.

"W-woah, this dragonite actually has a pretty good survival instinct," Buizel said.

"Archen, did you get the boost?" Light asked, finally snapping out of his shocked state.

"Unfortunately, no," Archen said. "Sorry."

"N-no, that's fine," Light said. "Just trying to think of our options. Before it does something that'll…"

Light's words stopped as soon as the dragonite wreathed its claws in a green energy and struck at him. Light managed to dodge the first blow, but the second one slashed him straight across his right cheek. Light clenched his right eye and dodged back after the attack, though he could still feel the stinging pain from where the claws slashed.

"I-I'm okay," Light said before anyone asked.

Light caught dragonite with his left eye and slammed into its stomach with a Thunderpunch. While the dragonite was reeling from that attack, Light singled to Buizel to use Ice Beam one more time. Buizel got his signal and began charging for the attack. In order to prevent the dragonite from use Fire Punch to counter again, Fennix fired a Psybeam at the same spot Light hit with his Thunderpunch. That attack prevented dragonite from doing anything by the time Buizel managed to fire his Ice Beam straight into the Dragon/Flying-type's chin, the attack finally knocking it out.

"F-finally," Light said. He eventually opened his right eye and placed a paw where he was slashed. It still stung, but he was able to ignore it for now. He just hoped he didn't look too bad when he turned around to face the rest of his friends. "Let's…keep going."

"Just take it easy," Buizel said.

"Not the easiest thing to do right now," Light said. "I'll take it easy once we've found the tablet and return home. Until then, I'll have to work as hard as anyone else."

"Just be careful," Archen said.

"I'll try," Light said lightheartedly.

With that out of the way, the four of them continued with the wind, walking further through the island. Their path continued to be bared by enemy Pokémon, lightning strikes, and heavy winds, but they also started reaching the parts Buizel warned about. Areas where the island seemed split apart, with a large river rushing through.

"Don't bother jumping in," Buizel warned. "This isn't actually a river. It's part of the sea with a really strong current in it. You won't find any land to stand on for entire fathoms under the sea and will be swept away if you even try it."

"Got any ideas for what we can do to cross it?" Light asked.

Buizel and Archen looked around for a few seconds. "Hmm…we can try knocking down one of the trees ourselves," Buizel said.

"Sounds like a shaky bridge," Fennix said. "Will it really be alright?"

"I'll stay back and wait," Buizel said. "If any of you fall, I'll rescue you. I should be able to make it through the water easily."

"Are you sure about that?" Archen asked. "Do you even know how strong the currents are?"

"Not exactly, but I've heard rumors," Buizel said. "I've faced worse."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Light said.

He searched around for a few seconds until he found a tree that seemed to be large enough to make a good bridge. Once he found one that looked good, he used Iron Tail to hack at it. Eventually he heard the snap and got out of the way as it fell to the ground with a large crash. When he looked back, he saw that it was a little crooked across the water, but it would still hopefully work as a bridge.

"Alright, let's cross one at a time," Light said. "That way we can make sure Buizel is able to save any of us if we fall."

"Alright," everyone else said.

Archen was the first to cross, as he was the closest to the bridge Light made. Fennix was next after that, Light nearly holding his breath as he watched her cross. Luckily, she made it through just fine. Light walked through last, holding his paws out to his side as he crossed to make sure he didn't lose his balance. Light almost bet that he would be the one to fall, considering how this adventure had been going, but he was luckily able to make it through just fine. As for Buizel, once he saw Light crossed through, he jumped into the water before jumping out on the other side.

"Ha, knew that current wouldn't be too bad," Buizel said.

"Just don't take too many risks," Archen said, a defeated sigh in his voice.

"Think we're getting close now, you guys?" Fennix asked. "It feels like we've been here forever."

"Can't say I blame you," Light said. "Without the sun, I can't tell how long it's been. Worse part is, I feel like we've barely searched much of the island."

"Think we should head back?" Archen said.

"We've already come all this way," Light said. "At this point, we might as well keep going. Unless we lose a lot of health, we really have no reason to go back."

"Plus, we've still got to find the next tablet!" Fennix reminded everyone. "I don't want to leave until we at least know whether it's here or not!"

"I guess we're still going," Buizel said. "Fine by me. I'm still looking out for some tough enemies."

So the crew continued their walk across the Island of Storms as they did before, however Light soon realized why Fennix asked that. He could hear her panting behind him and could sense her exertion. He himself was feeling slightly fatigued too, not as much as Fennix who was also dealing with the constant rainfall, but enough that it was noticeable. He guessed Archen could be feeling the same. The only one who wasn't was probably Buizel, who thrives in the rain.

"I hope we're getting close," Light mumbled to himself.

"I hope so too," Fennix said.

"Reminiscor could have been a lot clearer about where to go," Archen said.

"It shouldn't be too much longer, I hope," Light said. "But it would be nice if we had some sort of indication of where to go. Other than following the wind to wherever it goes."

"Well, since you asked so nicely…"

"…I'm sure we can help you."

Suddenly a large gale blew over the four Pokémon, preventing them from seeing anything. Along with that gale came lightning that crashed all around them. When the two elements cleared, two Pokémon floated in front of the group. They were both similar, being Pokémon that sat on what looked like a cloud and had some sort of appendage that came out of the back of their cloud and wrapped over to their chest. The differences was that one was blue with a spikey black appendage while the other was green with a blue appendage that had green swirls on it. When Archen saw the two Pokémon, he immediately freaked out.

"T-T-T-Tornadus and Th-Th-Th-Thundurus!" Archen said. "Oh no, we're screwed!"

"So, you already know about us, huh tiny Pokémon?" the green one, Tornadus, asked.

"Uhh…yeah," Archen said. "T-they said you were nice, benevolent Pokémon who are very helpful.

"So the Pokémon are liars then," the blue Pokémon, Thundurus, said. "Good to know."

"Well that worked out," Buizel said, his eyes rolling.

"Listen, we don't want any trouble!" Fennix yelled. "We're just looking for a small tablet. A Pokémon probably brought it recently! Know anything about it?"

"Oh, that Pokémon," Thudurus and Tornadus said at the same time, their faces turning to one of anger.

"That kiss-up came here and asked Landorus to guard something," Tornadus said. "Said it was for some Pokémon that would be coming soon. So, you four are the Pokémon they were talking about."

"This isn't looking good," Light whispered to his team. "Get ready for a fight."

"Can we really do this?" Archen asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Buizel asked.

"No, I guess not," Archen said.

"But we learned something interesting," Light said. "Apparently Reminiscor asked Landorus to guard the tablet, probably. That means Landorus might be on our side."

"How does that help us now?" Archen asked.

"We don't need to win this fight," Light said. "We just need to make enough noise that Landorus comes."

"Think that will work?" Fennix asked.

"It's either that or we manage to take down two Legendary Pokémon at the same time with two of us weak to one of them," Light said. "Either way, I'd rather not lose here."

"Point taken," Fennix and Archen said.

"If you four are the ones who that Pokémon was talking about…then I guess I know what we're gonna do," Thundurus said, punching his hands together and causing sparks as he did. "We're gonna rough you two up. That'll teach that kiss-up for coming to our island."

Thundurus extended his arms forward and suddenly several bolts of lightning fell from the sky, so quickly that the crew of four was barely able to dodge them all. However, Tornadus used his own attack at the same time, an Air Cutter attack, that hit Light and Fennix, knocking them both back. Luckily, Buizel was able to catch Light and Archen Fennix so that they didn't impact the ground with a hard smack.

"Ok…these guys might be a little strong." Buizel said. "All the more better."

Buizel retaliated by surrounding himself with water and launching a swift Aqua Jet straight at Tornadus. While he was doing that, Archen distracted Thundurus with a Rock Blast, sending a barrage of five rocks at Thundurus. Between the two attacks, though, Buizel's attack seemed to do more damage despite Archen's attack being Super-effective. Tornadus ended up reeling from the attack while Thundurus just looked at Archen with an angry expression.

"Pfft, that attack was weak," Thundurus said. "No drive behind it. I'll put you out of your misery."

Thudurus waved his right hand and threw a Thunderbolt attack at Archen. Archen braced himself for the attack, and Light himself wasn't able to do anything about it since he was still recovering from the last blow to him. Luckily, Fennix was able to react in time and jumped in front of Archen.

"Don't even think about it!" Fennix yelled before summoning a large green barrier. The bolts of electricity hit the barrier before harmlessly dissipating.

Light had fully recovered and now decided to attack himself. He wreathed his left paw in electricity and ran at Tornadus as fast as his two small hind paws could carry him. The pikachu jumped to Tornadus's level and prepared to use Thunderpunch on it. However, Thundurus only had to float up a bit farther so that Light flew below him, his attack completely unable to hit. Light was so surprised by the attack that he landed hard, unable to really get a good landing.

"O-Ow," Light moaned.

"Light, long-ranged attacks might work a bit better here," Buizel said.

"Said the Pokémon who used a physical move," Archen pointed out.

"You didn't let me finish!" Buizel yelled. "Long ranged attacks or extremely quick attacks. So Aqua Jet worked."

"Do we really need to argue about this now?" Fennix asked.

"S-she's right," Archen said. "Now's the time to show these two what the Expedition Society is all about! Buizel...you remember that one thing we talked about?"

"Oh, that," Buizel said. "Yeah, I remember. Taking a risk like that, though. Not usually like you."

"We don't have much of a choice," Archen said. "It's now or never."

"What are you two talking about?" Fennix asked.

Buizel and Archen both singled out Thundurus as their target. Buizel slammed at him with an Aqua Jet while Archen used Acrobatics to hit Thundurus from multiple angles too. Buizel also used Aqua Jet from multiple angles, and both attacks started blurring into each other. The swirl of wind and water almost caused an aqua tornado to form around the Legendary Pokémon before the two stopped their attack. They both jumped back, leaving Thundurus dazed from the combined attack.

"Oh wow!" Fennix said, her mouth hung open. "Okay Light, we definitely need to come up with our own combination moves!"

"Let's worry about that later," Light said. "For now…"

Light noticed that Thundurus was back from his daze and looking angrily at Buizel and Archen. Light knew that he was about to attack with some sort of electric attack on the two of them and that Fennix would only be able to block one. Not only that, but Tornadus was getting ready to attack too. So Light decided he needed to do something immediately.

Thundurus extended his arms forward, the same thing he did for his opening Thunder attack. However, Light ran between the two of them and jumped high into the sky before wreathing his tail in silver. Using his now metallic tail, he attracted both thunder attacks to him. The dual attacks slightly stung due to their sheer power, but Light ignored the pain.

"Someone give me a boost to Tornadus!" Light yelled.

Fennix heard him and caught the pikachu with Psychic, throwing him towards the Legendary he asked. Light flew at Tornadus and, when he got close enough, got ready to slam into him with his electrically charged Iron Tail. To help Light in that venture, Archen shot a Rock Blast at Tornadus to keep it from attacking. This allowed Light to be unimpeded with his attack.

"Alright, take this! Thunder Iron Tail!" Light yelled as he finally managed to slam his tail in Tornadus's chest. He could feel the electricity pass from his tail into the Legendary Pokémon. Tornadus roared in pain from the attack, and Light couldn't help but smile at that as he landed back on the ground.

"That should do it," Light mumbled to himself. Fennix, Buizel, and Archen all walked to his side as well.

"How in the world are four weak Pokémon still standing?!" Tornadus asked.

"They've been scampering about annoyingly," Thundurus said. "Plus, we've been too soft with them. But I'm so done with this."

"So am I," Tornadus said. "Shall we blow them off this island and let them die in the water?"

"I'm fine with that," Thundurus said.

"Get ready, you guys!" Buizel said. "Bet they're about to do a powerful attack!"

"Tornadus is known for using the move Hurricane, which is one of the most powerful Flying-type moves ever," Archen said. "If he uses that on us…he might actually be able to do what he says he wants to. And that's not even accounting for the many possibilities of what Thundurus could use."

"S-so what should we do?!" Fennix asked.

"We need to use our attacks to overpower theirs!" Light said. "Buizel, Archen! Aim for Thundurus with Ice Beam and Rock Blast! Fennix, you use Psybeam on Tornadus and I'll try and use Thunderbolt!"

"Try?" Archen asked.

"I'm still not very good at aiming moves like Thundershock or Thunderbolt," Light admitted quickly. "That doesn't matter now. We have to attack!"

On that command, Buizel and Archen both shot their Super-Effective moves straight at Thundurus while Fennix shot her Psybeam at Tornadus. Meanwhile, Light charged up electricity in his cheeks and tried to discharge it in the direction of Tornadus too, hoping against all hope that he could hit. Discharging the electricity wasn't particularly what Light was worried about, it was aiming it. He had no clue how Electric-types normally aim and hadn't figured it out at the time. So all he could do was try to concentrate on his target and hope that his electricity somehow followed.

However, before any of the four attacks from the Pokémon or the two attacks from the Legendary Pokémon could even collide with each other, let alone have one overpower the other, to giant pillars from earth appeared where the attacks would have collided and the six attacks dissipated. All six Pokémon looked with surprise at what happened until a single new Pokémon fell from the sky.

This Pokémon was similar to Thundurus and Tornadus, only orange and its appendage was a dark brown with small bumps all over it. It was the same size as the other two Pokémon, too, but that Pokémon carried an air of superiority over itself. It's mere presence also frightened both Tornadus and Thundurus too, and caused them to move back a few feet as it floated right in front of the four Expedition Society members.

"L-Landorus," both Thundurus and Tornadus said at the same time.

"I should have known you two would be behind all the fighting," Landorus said, his deep voice even carrying an air of authority. "Now leave. At once. I will not have you torment these Pokémon any longer, and you two can ill afford a fight against me after your battle."

The two disappeared without another word, causing Landorus to sigh. He then turned around to face the four Pokémon on the ground. Light felt Landorus's imposing size compared to his ad the Legendary Pokémon looked down on him, and he guessed that his friends were also experiencing the same feeling.

"As for you fools," Landorus said. "What possessed you to come here? I have heard already that the Pokémon know of this place and its reputation. There is no treasure to be found here either. And if you are here to test your strength, then consider yourselves lucky to be alive. Those two are not to be trifled with and you four only barely chipped away at their stamina."

"We're not here for a fight!" Light quickly defended.

"At least, most of us aren't," Archen said softly.

Fennix stepped forward. "M-my name is Fennix!" she said. "I'm looking for a tablet that was left here by a Pokémon. Someone probably calling themselves Reminiscor, or something like that. H-he should have said I was coming."

"Hmm..." Landorus mused. "I indeed have been given a tablet by a strange Pokémon. And I was told to give it to a fennekin. However, that Pokémon told me that fennekin would be joined by only one ally, not by three."

"We-we're here to keep these two kids safe," Archen said. "That's all!"

"Yeah, and they're my friends!" Fennix said.

"I'm not doubting that you're the one he was talking about," Landorus said. "I doubt many other fennekin would brother going to a storm infested island unless they had a death wish. That, and I was also informed of the pikachu." Light jumped back as he was mentioned. "I don't know how many fennekin are around with pikachu, but I imagine the number is few, and the number willing to come here fewer. Beyond that, it matters not to me whether I give the slate to the right Pokémon or not. If that Pokémon who came here wanted to ensure it went to the right place, they should have done something other than leave it in that pile of driftwood."

"Driftwood?" Light asked.

"You sound like you didn't really like the Pokémon," Fennix mentioned.

"I'll give him moxie," Landorus said. "It takes a lot to come here. Especially a Pokémon like him. Because of that, I'll do what he wants. But I can't say I'm normally a fan of Pokémon coming here in general. Those two are bad enough to control normally, let alone with an outsider on this island. So the sooner I get you four off this place, the better. Now, follow me."

Landorus turned around and floated off in a direction, the four of them all following behind him after a momentary shock.


	22. A History of Piracy

Landorus eventually took the four of them into a soft blue cave that had a small river flowing through it. The cave itself was very small, but was a relief from the rain that was previously pouring down on them. Fennix stretched and shook all the water off her fur as soon as they got in while Light took a look around. There was not much around, but what was there was rather interesting. A pile of wood was just lying in the middle of the cave, just beyond the river. Light guessed that pile of wood was the driftwood Landorus was talking about.

"More wood?" Fennix asked. "Wow, I've been seeing a lot of that lately."

"Where's this driftwood from?" Light asked.

"Various ships over the years," Landorus answered. "Back when Pokémon traveled by boats, if it got wreaked by a storm, the driftwood would inevitably end up around here. Boats throughout the years have come here. Though most of the wood from earlier eras has already rotted away. There's only one…interesting piece from thousands of years ago, that has survived. You'll find your tablet next to it."

"Thanks," Fennix said.

So the four Pokémon immediately walked to the driftwood and started searching all around it. There wasn't much around there, so it was a quick search. The driftwood they were looking for was in the furthest pieces to the back, and once they dug through it, they quickly found two different items. One was the tablet they were looking for. The other, though…

"A…book?" Light asked as he looked at the sea-green cover and brown pages. He opened it up and saw that most of the writing was faded and unintelligible. Among what he could see, he could see some footprint-shaped writing, suggesting it was possible it was written in the Ancient Language.

"Can you make anything from this?" Light asked as he passed the book to Fennix.

The fennekin looked at it for a few seconds with a confused look on her face. "I can see…nope, I have no clue," Fennix said. "I can see some footprint runes, but I think because they're just so fragmented, I can't recognize a single thing it says. Maybe Mawile would have a better time."

"How about the tablet?" Buizel asked. "What's it say?"

Fennix looked at the tablet next. "'These are the Archives of Reminiscor, the last who knows of the events that happened in the ancient past. This is the archive on the final of Mew's initial allies, Wartortle of the Seven Seas."

"…The Wartortle of the Seven Seas?" Fennix asked. "I'd think it's some sort of name I can't recognize, but the rest of the tablet uses just Wartortle."

"Might be Reminiscor uses Wartortle's species name and the title is just there to differentiate him from other wartortle," Archen said. "Like how I'm known as 'Archen the Flightless' or the Chief 'the Dashing Wanderer'."

"Oh, I thought you guys did that because it sounded cool," Fennix said. "That's why I'm 'the Fiery Spirit!'"

"And I'm 'the Luminescent Blade' because you kept begging me to make up my own title," Light said. "Anyways, can you continue?"

"'At the time Mew was taking on the pirates, Wartortle happened to be part of a pirate crew who road on a ship called… "the Sign of Wealth"' or whatever the heck Mawile would translate that as." Fennix shook her head before continuing reading. "'They were one of the many pirate crews that roamed the seas and pillaged travelers. And they were the first pirate crew that Mew tried to take on.'"

"Taking on a fierce pirate crew with four Pokémon and one human…that would have been a difficult fight," Buizel said. "Though two of them being Mythical Pokémon would have helped."

"Could Light even fight as a human?" Archen asked.

Light shrugged. "I mean…I figure I had to somehow, but I'm not sure how. I can't remember how I fought back then. I guess I just…did."

"Yeah, they did lose," Fennix said. Everyone quit their speculation looked back at the fennekin, who had mostly ignored the conversation going on to continue reading. "'Mew and his allies tried fighting the crew of the 'Sign of Wealth,' even though it would be a difficult, and lost. Luckily for them, they were brought to the ship's captain upon defeat. He was a powerful Greninja, but also smart, and knew that if the Legendary Pokémon intended for the destruction of the pirates that his days would be numbered as well, even if he got rid of Mew and his allies. So he decided a path that would profit them both. He and his crew would help Mew in the battle against the other pirates in the world, fulfilling Mew's task, so long as he and his crew got the plunder and would be pardoned. The decision was difficult for them, however…'"

"We really had no choice," Light eventually finished for her. "We could have disagreed, but we lost, the ship we used to reach them was totaled, and if we disagreed we would have been stranded in the middle of the sea. I don't think any of us were really 'happy' with it, but we had to do it. Plus they were going to help us with our task."

"Yeah, what Light said," Fennix said with a nod. "You remember anything new?"

"Yeah, I finally figured out why 'pirate' was such a weird word for me," Light said. "It was our time with Greninja and Wartortle. They were…more noble then I thought they would be. Granted, they were still pirates in the end and weren't exactly morally sound, but I remember being surprised that they didn't do 'worse' things. I can't remember what 'worse' means, but that's what I feel."

"Yeah, that's what I'm getting from this," Fennix said. "Seems even though they really didn't have much choice, it was still a split decision. They eventually agreed, as Light said, but Mew and Shaymuflore didn't really agree while you. Light, Clover, and Puriah agreed mostly because we didn't have much choice."

"What about Wartortle himself?" Buizel asked. "Isn't this thing about him? But so far it's just talked about the pirate crew."

"Sorry, this tablet is the longest of all of them," Fennix said. "I'll skip to the part that talks more about Wartortle. 'Mew's crew and the pirate crew were both unfriendly to each other. The pirate crew, by rule of Greninja, couldn't do anything to Mew's crew and Mew's crew were stuck working with the pirate crew, but neither were happy with this arrangement. However, there were two who were willing to talk with each other. The human, and Wartortle."

"'The human was willing to at least try and act cordial around one of the pirates, and Wartotrle happened to be one of the few that were willing to talk. As such, the two were willing to chat with each other and formed a…strange friendship. One that slightly ostracized each other from their respective groups, but a friendship nevertheless.'"

Buizel chuckled. "Leave it to Light to make friends with even a pirate. Don't know whether to say you're awesome or be worried about you."

"He told me some interesting things about why he became a pirate," Light said. "I think the captain said a lot of the same things too. It was a life of completely freedom. No rules, no regulations, and adventure every day. He saw more of the world with them than he saw just sticking at home. Not only that, but the captain didn't care who you were so long as you were good. Even if you're a human that normally doesn't belong in the world, he didn't care. Just so long as you could keep the ship running. That's why he enjoyed working with them so much. He would have gotten nowhere else in society, but was accepted there. While I kinda think you need rules and regulations, I think after listening to him, I understood where he was coming from, and that's why we were able to become friends. And it helped me gain some respect for the captain as well."

"So even though you disagreed with them, you understood where they were coming from, huh," Archen said.

"Sort of," Light said. "Plus, they were willing to quit their pirating and live quiet lives. Quiet lives filled with treasure they stole, especially from other pirates, but quiet lives nevertheless."

Fennix continued reading. "'Though it was difficult, especially since they were both ostracized for their friendship, it was that friendship that allowed the pirate crew and Mew's crew to finally start working together more cordially. This was especially helpful as they fought off some of the more ferocious pirates around. Unfortunately, their continued fights eventually lead to tragedy. During a fight against a pirate group known as the Shadow Flags, they ran into Pokémon who were controlled by Dark Matter. Those Pokémon turned much of the crew to stone and fatally wounded Greninja. With his dying breath, he named Wartortle the next leader of the remaining members of 'Sign of Wealth.'"

Light took a step back in surprise. "Oh I…didn't remember that," he admitted. "I…didn't think he actually died."

"Considering they were facing pirates, I guess that shouldn't be too surprising," Buizel said. "Still, that must have sucked for the crew. Fighting opponents who could turn you to stone isn't even fair."

"…Th-that's so sad!" Fennix said. "To think, Dark Matter did that."

"Can you keep going?" Light asked.

"Y-yeah, I can," Fennix said, tears in her eyes. "Sorry. 'The Shadow Flags were the last of the know pirate crews, so after their defeat, Mew's crew had accomplished their mission and the 'Sign of Wealth' could disband and be pardoned. But it was a bittersweet ending due to how much loss happened. Seeing that, and learning from the human what that meant, Wartortle swore to Mew's crew that he would help them take out Dark Matter and it's minions no matter what the cost. And that is when he officially joined the group.'"

"I can understand his feelings," Buizel said. "If something happened to the Chief, I know I'd want to take out whoever did it."

"'Wartortle was a bit of a hothead, but was fiercely loyal. It was his loyalty to his captain that caused him to join Mew in the first place and his loyalty to the group that eventually won him over to them. Even if Mew wasn't a fan of having an ex-pirate, Wartortle's contacts were incredibly helpful on their quest and Wartortle's combat prowess due to years as a pirate were a boon. It took a bit, especially for Mew, but he eventually integrated himself fully into the group.'"

"Hothead is right," Light said. "He was good in a fight, but he kept picking fights. I…can't remember exactly why or when, but I think at one point in time he tried to tell off the Legendary Pokémon. It took a whole lot calm talking from Clover and Mew to keep the situation under control."

"Picking a fight against Legendary Pokémon, huh?" Archen asked. "I think Buizel might be descended from Wartortle."

"I heard that!" Buizel yelled angrily.

"You were supposed to," Archen responded.

"Anything else?" Light asked Fennix before Buizel and Archen started arguing.

"'Wartortle's sense of adventure allowed him and Clover to form a close bond throughout the adventure," Fennix continued. "Once Clover finally accepted Wartortle has part of the team the two had many chats of the things they've seen or experienced on their various adventures. Wartortle was the one who was effected the most by Clover's loss during the last battle with Dark Matter.'"

"Makes sense," Light said. "Those two would make for good friends."

"You don't remember?" Fennix asked.

Light shook his head. "I think I…might remember them chatting from time to time, but I don't remember much else. If they were really close, either I just didn't notice it or they didn't mention anything. Or I've completely forgotten."

"Oh, okay," Fennix said.

"Anything else about Wartortle?" Buizel asked.

Fennix shook her head. "Nope. That's it on Wartortle, anyways. When we give it to Mawile, she can check a few of the names here. There's just one last thing." Fennix looked at the tablet excitedly, her tail wagging. "Here it is, one last clue! We're about to find Reminiscor!"

"Well then, read it," Light urged.

"'You have done well to find these Archives, you who holds the spirit of Mew. Now it is time for us to have our fated meeting. If you seek me, reach the end of the cave where the spirits are purified. The place where you were given life once again. I will be waiting for you there. Signed, Reminiscor."

"Purifying Cave," Light said. "That's where he's waiting for us."

"Looks like it," Fennix said. "Let's get off this island and hurry back to Lively Town! We've got a lot to tell Mawile!"


	23. The Final Trial: Part 1

Light and Fennix stood outside of a cave in a small mountain, along with Mawile who joined in for this last adventure. The cave itself was actually a rather bright cave, as the cave exuded a sort of mystical glow. As Light looked on it, he could feel his heart pump and a sense of dread exuded over him.

"Purifying Cave, huh?" Mawile asked. "Been a while since we've been there."

Light sighed. "I…honestly hoped I'd never have to go here again. The less I have to see of this place, the better."

"Wasn't it the place that we got reunited?" Fennix asked.

"Yeah, but it was also the place I got tricked into thinking that…Mew might need to die or the world might end," Light said, looking at his two forepaws. "And I had to…chose. I don't regret my choice, and if I had to, I'd chose it again. Even if it wasn't to save you…I don't think Mew deserved to die so young. But…I hated making that choice. Knowing that I might doom the world by doing so."

"We have done so before, but I again must apologize," Mawile said. "It was necessary for many reasons. But in the end, we still manipulated you. Even if you did agree before, you lost your memory of that agreement."

"It's…okay," Light said. "I…understand. Let's just…forget about all that." Light shook his head, trying to banish all the thoughts from his brain. "For now, we've got more important things to worry about. Reminiscor is here, so let's go find him."

"Yeah, let's do it!" Fennix said. "It's finally time to find him!"

"Yes, it's time for us to finally end this Expedition," Mawile said.

So the trio walked into the cave. The pale blue limestone showed as brightly inside as it looked on the outside, giving the Pokémon inside an azure glow. It also pulsed between dim and bright every few seconds, as if the cave itself was alive. At each pulse, Light could feel his own heart beating from the weight on it. He tried to focus on why they were in the dungeon, but the pulses of light were a constant reminder of where he was and what happened there only a few months ago.

"Light…do you want to talk about it?" Fennix's voice said, getting Light to look down and to his right at her.

"N-no," Light said quickly. "Not because I want to keep something from you. You know what I'm feeling. You know how I'm feeling. So there's nothing much we can talk about. I just…I'm having trouble ignoring it. All the feelings from back then, they keep it coming back. I want to focus on Reminiscor, on the Expedition. But…" Light looked around for a few seconds at the pulsing walls, "it keeps coming back."

Fennix pressed herself hard against Light's side. The suddenness of her move nearly through Light off balance, but once he got over that, he could feel the warmth coming from her. A warmth that told him that everything would be okay. That, in the here and now, everyone was safe. Mew wasn't needing to be sacrificed to keep the peace. And she was safe.

All it took was that action, and Light was able to breathe a sigh of relief on his heavy heart. There was still pain from seeing the pulsing walls, but he was able to press on regardless. Which was good, as they were finally starting to see some enemies.

A part of the mythical quality of Purifying Cave was the fact that it attracted Psychic-types to it. A musharna and reuniclus were the first Pokémon that they encountered in the cavern, who both shot a psybeam at Light. Mawile acted instantly, running in front of Light and easily blocking the two attacks without taking much damage. Fennix responded with a Flamethrower on the musharna while Light ducked around to use Thunderpunch on the reuniclus. Once Light did that, Mawile backed him up with an Iron Head. The two attacks took down reuniclus, leaving only musharna left. And even that Pokémon was taken down with a quick Flame Charge from Fennix.

"Well, that's that," Light said.

"Yeah, the enemies in here aren't too tough, all things considering," Fennix said. "Much easier than going through that Island of Storms."

"Psychic-types aren't too terribly difficult for me," Mawile said. "However, I'm curious about something. I wonder if Reminiscor might have set up some sort of final trial or something for you."

"Some sort of final trial?" Fennix asked. "What do you mean?"

"We'll see," Mawile said. "We should keep going for now. I'm sure if he did have some sort of trial for us, it will become evident rather soon."

"I suppose so," Light said.

So the trio continued their walk through Purifying Cave. They went through for a bit, fighting enemies after enemies with relative ease, for a few more minutes. They expected to go on like this for a while, but in fact didn't. They were only in the dungeon for a few minutes until they saw a familiar face. One Light was afraid of seeing.

"…N-Nuzleaf," Light said as the Grass-type walked forward.

"H-howdy Light," Nuzleaf said. "Fancy meetin' you here!"

"Nuzleaf…you're here?" Fennix asked. "B-but we're supposed to be meeting Reminiscor here. S-so if you're here, then that means…"

"You lied to us again," Light said, his voice sounding defeated. He almost felt his legs give way from the weight of what he saw. "When we were traveling together…I trusted you. When you told us your past, I believed you. I thought we made a connection. But you still didn't tell us every…"

"H-hold your ponyta there, Light," Nuzleaf said, his hands outstretched to say stop. "No, I ain't that Reminiscor fellow you're talkin' about. I'm here because that guy just outta the blue plumb asked me to help test you guys. Told me to wait here and…challenge you guys to a fight when y'all came."

"Challenge us to a fight?!" Fennix asked.

"S-so you aren't Reminiscor?" Light asked.

"Nah, sorry," Nuzleaf said. "I ain't sure why he's doin' this, to be honest. Why he ain't just tellin' y'all who he is. But this is what he wanted so…sorry."

Nuzleaf looked at Mawile. "Miss Mawile, would ya mind sittin' this one out? This whole event thing is for Fennix and Light."

"I expected as much," Mawile said. "Light, Fennix, you two are on your own."

"We really have to fight you?" Light asked.

"That's what the dude wanted," Nuzleaf said. "So sorry about this, you two. I ain't gonna hold back."

"Then we won't either!" Fennix announced as she got ready to fight. Light sighed, less confident about fighting Nuzleaf with his conflicted feelings, but accepted that this had to happen regardless.

Light started off, as he usually did, with an Iron Tail. Nuzleaf countered by summoning a blade of grass in his paw and struck Light's tail. The two attacks clashed with a clang before both opponents jumped back to get away from each other. Of course, Fennix herself wasn't exactly out of the fight, and she shot several Embers at Nuzleaf. The Embers hit and Nuzleaf danced around due to the flames.

"Hot hot hot hot!" Nuzleaf yelled.

"Ha! Forgot I was a Fire-type?!" Fennix asked. "Alright Light, let's finish him off quick!"

"On it," Light said.

He outstretched his arms and they glowed as he rushed forward to slam into Nuzleaf with a Super-Effective Brick Break attack. However, Nuzleaf suddenly disappeared and dodged the attack. While Light was looking for him, Nuzleaf kicked the pikachu square in the stomach with a Feint Attack. Light felt the breath fall out of him with a whoosh as he was sent back.

"Light, are you okay?!" Fennix asked as she rushed to his side.

Light quickly got up off the floor. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine," Light said.

"I warned ya, didn't I?" Nuzleaf asked. "I ain't holding back, so I expect y'all not to hold back either."

"That Feint Attack is going to be tricky," Light whispered to her. "We had enough trouble with that when we first fought him, and we were evolved with the Harmony Scarves at the time. Gonna be tough now."

"But we're much stronger than back then," Fennix said. "So let's show him how strong we've gotten!"

"Yeah, we'll try!" Light said. "Let's both charge at him."

So Light and Fennix, side by side, charged at him using Volt Tackle and Flame Charge respectively. Nuzleaf tried to dodge out of the way of the attack, but the two-pronged attack covered such a wide area that Nuzleaf was unable to dodge out of the way of the attack and was hit by the electric and fire attack. Nuzleaf wasn't taken out by the attack, but he did take a lot of damage.

"Woo hoo! Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Fennix said after the attack ended. "Finally, we've got a combined attack! But…I think it still needs more. Needs more pizazz and awesomeness. And a cool name to go along with it."

"Can we worry about this later?" Light asked, the recoil from the attack causing sparks to appear all over his body. "We're kinda in the middle of something here."

"S-sorry," Fennix said, an embarrassed blush on her face. "You're right."

They both faced Nuzleaf, who had burns all over his body and there were even a few sparks, though not as many due to his resistance to electricity. However, Nuzleaf managed to right himself up without too much problem. When he did that, he once again summoned Leaf Blade to his arms and looked at Light and Fennix.

Light wreathed his tail in silver and flew at Nuzleaf, his tail once again clashing with his blades of leaves. Light started with a horizontal slash to the left that clashed with Nuzleaf's vertical slash with his blade. Next Light spun around and tried to hit Nuzleaf's shoulder, but Nuzleaf used both his hands to block the attack. They both pushed each other away as they were evenly matched.

"Sorry Light," Nuzleaf said before disappearing once again to use Feint Attack. Light was prepared for that attack, though, and wrapped his Iron Tail around his body so that it was protecting his stomach. Thus, when Nuzleaf tried to hit Light with Feint Attack, his foot hit iron instead. Light took this opportunity to unwrap his tail and send Nuzleaf spinning. While Nuzleaf was defenseless, Light slammed into him with the Brick Break attack he intended earlier, and that attack was enough to knock Nuzleaf out.

An Reviver Seed was quickly given to allow Nuzleaf to be restored back to health. Once Nuzleaf was restored, he stood up and panted. However, he also had a smile on his face.

"Well I'll be an aipom's uncle, you two sure whooped me good," Nuzleaf said. "I reckin' you two have grown stronger. Though how'd you manage to block my Feint Attack?"

Light shrugged. "You hit my stomach before and I noticed when you swung your Leaf Blade, that's where you were aiming for. So I figured that's where you would attack me again. Either way, I had to do something, so I took the chance."

"Well, you did good, kid," Nuzleaf said. "I guess the two of you can go on now."

"Nothing else you need to say?" Mawile asked. "That's it?"

"Yeah, it is," Nuzleaf said. "Again, I ain't exactly sure why he's doin' all this. Guess he just wants to make sure y'all are strong enough to fight him. Don't know why though. You'll have to ask him that question. For now though, y'all can keep going."

"Alright!" Fennix said. "Thanks, Nuzleaf."

"Well then, let's continue," Mawile said.

* * *

So the trio continued their walk through Purifying Cave, preparing for whenever the next part of Reminiscor's trial. Until then, they continued to and fight various Psychic-types like musharna and reuniclus, along with meowsic of both genders. They managed to go through them all in similar ways to the first Psychic-types they fought; Mawile tanked their attacks to give Light and Fennix the opportunity to attack. They continued this way until they saw the next familiar face emerge from the darkness.

"P-Principle Simipour?!" Fennix asked.

"Hello my students," Simipour said as he stepped forth. "I'm sure you both are surprised to see me here, no?"

"W-well, yeah," Fennix said. "Isn't school going on right now? Shouldn't you be over there? I mean, you haven't even been a part of this Expedition."

"I took the day off to help an old friend of mine," Simipour said. "He asked me to come here to help him out. And I agreed to help. I'm sure you both know what that means?"

"We have to fight…right?" Light asked, the pikachu already balling his paws in his fists.

"Yes, that is correct," Simipour said, his face still smiling as usual. "I'm normally not one to give out physical exams, especially where I am to fight my students, but since I was asked by an old friend, I must do this. So, I hope that the two of you are ready for your final test."

"I imagine I'm once again to stand and watch?" Mawile asked.

"If you don't mind, miss," Simisage said. "These two are your co-workers and fellow colleges. But this trial is specifically for them."

"I expected just about as much," Mawile said, already walking to the side of the cave. "I'm here mostly for research purposes anyways. We are about to meet someone who has vast archeological knowledge and I'm interested in meeting them as well."

"So then students, shall we begin?" Simipour asked.

"Y-yeah," Light said.

He quickly looked at Fennix and whispered, "Get ready a Solarbeam. I'll distract him until then."

"On it," Fennix said.

Fennix charged her Solarbeam, using her memory of the feel of the sun on her fur, warming her body. While she was doing that, Light rushed forward to start off with a Supereffective Thunderpunch attack, pouring his strength in his left paw to start this battle off right. However, Simisage easily dodged the attack with a simple jump back, something that seemed to take no effort whatsoever. Light took a step back to avoid any counterattacks.

"H-how?" Light asked.

"Why Light, I'm not your teacher just because I stand around doing nothing all day," Simipour said. "As your teacher, it was required for me to learn to defend my students just in case. Watchdog, Farfetched, and even Audino also know how to carry themselves in battle. I happened to pass that class with flying colors."

And just to show that he did, Simipour launched an Acrobatics attack on Light, swiftly kicking him in several areas of his body before launching one last kick at the back of the pikachu's head to send him flying. And fly Light did, flying for a few seconds until his face slammed back into the ground. Light groaned with pain for a few seconds before getting back up. When he did, he looked back to see that Fennix managed to use Solarbeam…but Simipour effortlessly dodged it in the same way he dodged Light's attack.

"W-whoa, he's good!" Fennix said. "Like, really good!"

Light rushed back to Fennix's side, realizing that they needed to come up with a new strategy. "You aren't kidding," Light said. "I never thought Principal Simipour would be this strong. And he's fast too. We need to do something if we want to win. We gotta hinder his movement somehow."

"Think you can charge the ground with Electricity or something?" Fennix asked.

"Don't know Electric Terrain, have no clue how to even do that, doubt these rocks are even able to be charged," Light said. "Sorry. But I still have Grass Knot, so I can try that if he rushes at us. What about you? Fire moves won't help us much."

"Psychic won't either," Fennix said. "He'd probably easily break out of it. But maybe if I keep firing Psybeams I can slow him down a bit more. Keep him from dodging as much."

"I suppose it's better than nothing," Light said. "Let's try and make this work."

Light rushed forward once again towards Simipour, wreathing his tail in metal. When he got to Simipour, though, he did something different than usual. Instead of jumping and swinging his tail horizontally, Light thrust his lower body forward into a slide while making sure to have his right paw on the ground. He meant to sweep Simipour's legs with his Iron Tail, however Simipour easily jumped over it. Luckily, Light saw that coming, and placed his left paw to the ground, his eyes on where Simipour might land. Once Simipour was about to, Light used Grass Knot to trip him to the ground. This attack was fully successful and Simipour came falling to the ground.

"Fennix, now!" Light yelled.

Fennix shot of a Psybeam from her spot far away, which hit Simisage dead on the forehead. This attack knocked Simipour back a few feet, allowing Light time to get back up and rush to Fennix just in case the Water-type got back up. And he did, their principal looking slightly fatigued but otherwise still able to fight.

"Excellent work there, Light," Simipour praised with a clap of his hands. "Using your Iron Tail to set me up for a Grass Knot was a rather good move on your part. And using it to allow Fennix her chance to attack was rather good as well. Though you should have used Solarbeam again instead of just a simple Psybeam. I imagine I wouldn't be standing right now if you did. Still, you two did great work with that last round. Keep this up and you might pass by yet. Though, I wouldn't recommend using the same trick twice. I might just be able to counter that."

"Geez, if it weren't for all the pain, you'd think we're still in class," Fennix said.

"Yeah, but this is one time we need to get a perfect grade," Light responded.

"Got a plan?" Fennix asked.

"No…not really," Light admitted. "Sorry. But I know we can do something. Maybe…maybe…"

Light thought of something. "If we could just move a bit faster, or make him go slower, maybe we'd be able to win this fight."

"Oh, like if you use Quick Attack!" Fennix said. "Do you think that would work?"

Light looked at his paws. "It's been a long time since I've used Quick Attack. But I suppose better now than never. Fennix, be sure to back me up."

"On it," Fennix said.

Simipour shot a blast of steaming water at them, Light and Fennix jumping in opposite directions to avoid the attack. Once Light landed, he got on all four paws and rushed forward, pushing himself to move faster than ever before. It was a similar feeling to when he used Volt Tackle, so it wasn't too much to get used to the feeling, only he didn't have the rush of electricity running through his body to help him. He rushed in an arch to avoid being too obvious about his intentions before jumping in Simipour's direction to hit him with a headbutt. Simipour dodged, as Light expected, so Light landed on the ground and continued using Quick Attack, hoping to hit his principal.

So the two started a cycle of Light rushing at him with Quick Attack and Simipour dodging it. Despite Light's increase of speed, Simipour was still easily able to dodge him. Light was getting frustrated at his inability to actually land a hit by his fifth failure. Luckily for him, at one dodge from Simipour he was suddenly hit by an Ember attack. The small fireballs hardly did damage to the Water-type, but they distracted him long enough for Light to finally hit him with a Quick Attack. The attack knocked Simipour back a little.

"Fennix, get ready a Solarbeam," Light said. "I've got a plan."

"On it Light," Fennix said, though she gave him a questioning glance.

While Fennix was charging up her attack, Simipour was getting ready to get back up. However, Light wasn't about to let that happen. So he charged up an Iron Tail and slammed Simipour back down to the ground. While he was there, Light used Grass Knot to tie Simipour's right paw to the ground.

"Fennix, now!" Light called, trying his best to keep his Grass Knot going for as long as possible.

So Fennix launched her Solarbeam attack straight at Simipour and, thanks to him still being held there, the Solarbeam was a direct hit. Once the green beam dissipated and they were able to see Simipour again, they saw him on the ground, fainted and lying motionless.

"Heh, we won," Light said, fatigue starting to reach him. Still, he ignored his fatigue long enough to hand Simipour a Reviver Seed.

Simipour got up as the seed touched him and clapped his hands together. "Well done, you two," Simipour said. "I must say, I am rather impressed at how far you two have grown. Why, it feels like it was only yesterday that you two were in my class."

"For me it might as well have been," Light said. "I was only there for about a month at most."

"It felt like forever for me," Fennix mentioned in a whisper to Light, having gotten to his side.

"Still, even if you were only here for a few moments, I still consider you to be one of my prize students," Simipour said. "Congratulations you two. You have managed to best me in combat. Now, the three of you may move on. I believe you still have a lesson to learn, do you not?"

"Yes, they do," Mawile said, the Steel/Fairy-type walking up. "I was rather impressed by your battle strategy, though. I've seen opponents who dodge attacks to avoid taking damage before, but never with such little effort to conserve your power. It was quite impressive to watch."

"Thank you, miss Mawile," Simipour said. "I like to flow like the water. Moving without effort to avoid attacks before slamming back at my opponents. It allowed me to get the upper hand on Pansage whenever we fought while we were younger. I wonder if it would allow me to win a battle if we were to fight now." Simipour looked nostalgic for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Anyways, it's best you three be off now."

"Yeah," Light said as he finished off an Elixir from his bag to give him some energy back. "Let's go, Mawile, Fennix."

"Yes, we shall," Mawile said. "I imagine we're getting very close to Reminiscor."


	24. The Final Trial: Part 2

Purifying Cave was nearly at its end by the time Light and Fennix's next challenge came to pass. Light could see the small opening signifying that the end of the cavern was close and the room that he reunited with Fennix was just beyond that door. And it was as they were about to cross when their next opponent walked through that door. A blue shelled opponent who, as soon as Fennix saw him, her mouth dropped.

"P-P-Pops?!" Fennix asked.

"Light, Fennix," Carracosta acknowledged both of them. "Welcome."

"So, you're our next opponent?" Light asked, already getting ready for a fight.

"Indeed, I am," Carracosta said. "Before we do begin our battle, though, I must say that I am impressed, Fennix. Despite the pain that brought you over to me in the middle of your Expedition, you managed to get past that and have made it to your final challenge. I am proud of you and what you've accomplished. Now you have only one more Pokémon to defeat before you can meet Reminiscor."

"But…fighting you?" Fennix asked.

"You must," Carracosta said. "Light cannot face me on his own, even with his type advantage. You must assist him. Remember what I told you? There are times in life where your job, your duty, will force you to do things you don't like. This is one of those times."

"B-but…" Fennix said.

"I'll be fine," Carracosta said. "Do not fear hurting me. I am a lot stronger and heartier then my old age would imply. Don't hold back on my account, my child."

Light placed a paw on Fennix's shoulder. "I'll be sure to heal him right away when we're done," he promised. "So don't worry about it. I'll make sure he's fine."

"If you say so, Light," Fennix said, though the look on her face wasn't one of confidence. "I just…never thought I'd ever have to fight my Pops."

"You'll be fine," Light said. "I'll be with you. We'll fight him together."

Fennix nodded. "A-alright. Thanks." Fennix closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them back up again, she looked at Carracosta with determination on her face. "We'll show you what we're made up, Pops!" Fennix said. "So you better be ready!"

"Good," Carracosta said. "Because I won't pull my punches either. This will be the final challenge for your Expedition, I guarantee it. Prepare, you two."

And without any other warning, Carracosta summoned several rocks with ancient aura around them. After a few seconds, the Rock/Water-type threw them directly at the two young explorers. Light wreathed his tail in silver and slashed at the rocks thrown in their direction, destroying them all before they could do any damage. While he was doing that, Fennix shot a Psybeam in Carracosta's direction to deal some early damage.

"Good, neither of you are holding back," Carracosta said. "Now it's time that I do the same. Prepare yourselves."

Carracosta rolled into his shell and charged straight at the two kids, his trajectory specifically pointing at Light, but would hit Fennix as well. Light and Fennix weren't about to get hit by the attack, however, and they both prepared. Light slammed hard against the ground with Iron Tail, bringing a slate of ground up to protect himself. Fennix prepared herself behind Light, charging up a Solarbeam, for when Carracosta got out of his rolling form. And Carracosta impacted the piece of ground as expected.

"Ha, it worked," Light said. "Well, this should be easy."

However, Carracosta had other ideas managed to easily break the slate in front of Light. The pikachu jumped back in surprise and tried to get ready an Iron Tail, but Carracosta was too fast for him and slammed into the pikachu with his powerful Rollout attack. Light flew back and Fennix had to break her concentration on her Solarbeam in order to dodge the attack.

"Light, are you okay?!" Fennix called out to him.

Light slowly got up, bruises once again covering his body and parts of his yellow fur caked with dirt. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine," he said.

Carracosta got out of his Rollout state with a jump before landing heavily back on the ground. He looked at his two opponents with disappointment. "Do you think me so weak that such a small slab of stone could stop me?" Carracosta asked. "Do not underestimate me, either of you. I have no intention to let this battle end so easily."

Light retaliated, not with words, but with a Thunderpunch directed straight at Carracosta's stomach. The pikachu smiled as he felt his attack hit its mark and the electricity discharge from his paw into Carracosta's body. However, his smile fell when he looked up and saw the Rock/Water-type looking back down at him with an unamused glance.

"I warned you, did I not?" Carracosta asked. "That mere type advantage would not allow you victory? My ability is Solid Rock. It gives me some extra protection from moves that I'm weak too, allowing me to take nowhere near as much damage from them."

And, without any warning, Carracosta wreathed his tail in water and slammed all that water into Light, sending the pikachu flying back. Light landed on his back with a groan, but he tried his best to ignore the pain and get back up again. However, as he did so, he saw that Carracosta was once again using Rollout and was getting very close to ramming into him once more. So Light threw his arms in front of his face desperately, knowing full well he had no time to block or dodge.

"Not gonna let you do that, Pops!" Fennix yelled and soon after Light could feel her tail brush against his stomach. He opened his eyes back up to see Fennix blocking Carracosta's Rollout with a Protect.

"L-Light, what are we gonna do?" Fennix asked, her voice strained from the energy it took to keep Carracosta at bay. "If Supereffective moves don't work on him with Solid Rock…"

Light shook his head. "It's not that," he said. "Solid Rock makes them slightly weaker, that's all. They're still effective, just not as effective as they would normally be."

"R-really?" Fennix asked.

"Yeah, but he's tough," Light said. "I can tell. It's gonna take a lot to bring him down."

"We'll just have to keep pressing on!" Fennix said. "I know if we keep going, we'll win eventually!"

Light chuckled. "That's the spirit. Now get ready."

"Ready for what?" Fennix asked.

Light answered with actions instead of words. He jumped into the air and wreathed his tail in silver once more. Once he got past Fennix's protect barrier, he flew at Carracosta, slamming him with the Iron Tail. Thanks in part to Fennix halting her father's momentum, Light was easily able to send the Prototurtle Pokémon back and cause his Rollout to hit a nearby wall. Fennix quickly realized exactly what Light was saying and, once Carracosta uncurled, she shot a Psybeam in his direction. The attack easily impacted and caused a small explosion that kicked up dust, obscuring the old Pokémon from the two kids.

"Did…did we win?" Fennix asked.

"I…don't know," Light admitted. "I think so but…I don't know."

Their answer came only a few seconds later as, with a surprising amount of speed, as Carracosta suddenly jumped half-way across the room, his tail once again wreathed in water. Light and Fennix managed to dodge the attack that came for them, but they barely managed to avoid the attack. Both kids panted, their hearts pounding at how close they were to that attack.

"W-what?!" Fennix asked. "I know my pops, and there's no way he's this fast!"

"He must have used Shell Smash," Light said. "Which means he's faster and more powerful at the cost of some defense."

"You're quite perceptive, Light," Carracosta said. "I told you that I had no intention of letting you win so easily."

"Y-yeah, but we won't let ourselves lose either!" Fennix said. And just to prove that, she launched a Flamethrower attack straight at Carracosta. Of course, Carracosta being a Rock/Water-type, only needed to put a flipper out in front of him to negate the attack.

"Fennix, what did you expect that foolish attack to accomplish?" Carracosta asked. "Type advantages and disadvantages are elementary level knowledge. Children younger than you would know not to use a Fire attack on me. It's the first thing they teach you in school."

"Yeah, I know," Fennix said. "Duh. But there's something they don't teach you in school."

And Light suddenly came up right in front of Carracosta, Iron Tail glowing. Light first hit Carracosta with the Iron Tail before following up with a Thunderpunch while the Rock/Water-type was still reeling from the attack. The two attacks sent Carracosta back a few inches.

"How to trick someone who's cocky," Fennix finished her early statement. "Gotcha, Pops. Knew you'd lecture me instead of focusing on the battle!"

"Fine," Carracosta said. "I suppose that's my fault for underestimating you. I should be better to my own daughter."

Carracosta once again used Ancient Power, Light preparing to use Iron Tail once again to counter. However, Carracosta was prepared for Light's response and, instead of firing the Ancient Power at the two children, he fired into the air to hit the ceiling. The impact of the attack caused both the Ancient Power rocks and the rocks in the ceiling to fall down in the direction of the two kids.

"Are you insane?" Fennix yelled as both she and Light dodged out of the way of the attack.

Light kept dodging and dodging rocks left and right, narrowly avoiding getting squished by them. However, his constant attempt to dodge the stones came with consequences. While he wasn't paying attention due to more focusing on what was above him, the large boulders surrounded him, trapping him in one spot. Light only just noticed it when the last rock blocked his only exist from the circle of rocks surrounding him.

"Crap!" Light yelled out as he looked over the boulders.

"Light!" Fennix yelled. "Look above you!"

Light looked up to see that there was more to Carracosta's assault then he first thought. While the rocks were falling, he was jumping rock from rock to get himself high up in the air. Once he got close to the roof of the cave, he targeted Light and curled into a ball. Carracosta used Rollout once again, only using the momentum gained from falling several yards to increase its power instead of his attack. And Light realized he was trapped with nowhere to go to block the attack.

"Fennix!" Light yelled. "Can you stop him with Psychic?"

"No, but I think I can do something else!" Fennix yelled back. "Just hold tight."

A purple aura suddenly surrounded one of the rocks to Light's right and lifted it up. Light took this as his chance and quickly rushed through the new opening given to him, and just managed to escape his prison of earth before Carracosta slammed down behind him. Once Light made it past, Fennix dropped the rock, trapping Carracosta there instead of Light.

"Oh Arceus, that was close," Light said, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would nearly burst through his chest. He looked at Fennix to see her with dirt and dust all over her fur, giving some parts of it a shade of brown, and her breath coming out in pants. But otherwise, she looked no worse for wear.

"Man, my Pops is tough," Fennix said in between pants. "Who knew he was such a good battler?"

"Apparently everyone we know are good battlers," Light responded. "Even if they're from Serene Village. Maybe spending more time there would have helped us."

"What are we gonna do?" Fennix asked. "We can't keep this up forever!"

"Wish I could get a good Grass Knot on him," Light said as he thought up a plan. "If I could just trap him, we could use the same Grass Knot and Solarbeam combo we used on Principal Simipour. But he either rushes using Rollout or jumps across the air. He won't let me get the chance."

"Probably because he knows you do that," Fennix said. "He's too smart! He knows how we fight and knows what to do about it! And it probably won't be long until he's out of there!"

"His Rollout is the toughest thing," Light said. "It keeps bursting through everything we throw at it. We need to get through that somehow…"

"But how?" Fennix asked.

Light looked between the ceiling, seeing all the marks left on it from Carracosta's attack, then looked at the ground with all the various rocks and pebbles created from the impacts left by the Rock/Water-type's last attack. "…I think I got it," Light said. "Let's use the same trick that Carracosta did."

"The same…trick?" Fennix asked.

However, she didn't get much time for Light to elaborate as the boulders that temporarily contained Carracosta were burst open, with the Prototurtle Pokémon bursting out of his prison with a Rollout. Light noticed how his Rollout after going through those rocks was much slower than usual and smiled, hoping that his plan would come to fruition.

"Fire at the roof with Solarbeam!" Light said as he rushed over to Carracosta to be the distraction.

Light didn't have time to look and see if his Partner heard his words as he focused on his assault, only doing so with the knowledge that she would listen even if she wasn't completely sure. So Light confidently hit Carracosta with Thunderpunch, getting the attention of the Rock/Water-Pokémon. Carracosta responded, as he did last time, with an Aqua Tail on Light, to which Light countered with his own Iron Tail. The two attacks collided, neither side the winner in that confrontation as both of them did damage to the other. But Light's focus wasn't on that and he ignored the pain in his tail. He instead looked up to see that Fennix did indeed listen to him and a large green beam was blasted into the roof.

Light jumped back to Fennix's side as the rocks began falling. The pikachu nodded at the fennekin, signaling her to follow his lead, before leaping onto the first rock he was able to. He quickly looked back to see Fennix did somewhat figure out what he was doing, as she jumped on the nearest boulder to her as well. So Light kept hopping between boulders until he had a small bit of time to look down at Carracosta. The Prototurtle Pokémon, either because he figured out Light's plan or didn't want to let anything happen anyways, also began his climb on the stones. This hampered Light's plan, so he called out to Fennix.

"Use Psybeam to keep your Pops from climbing with us!" Light commanded her before he began leaping again to avoid falling along with the rock to the floor.

As he climbed he saw multicolored psychic orbs go flying at the rock Carracosta was about to leap on, breaking it up and forcing Carracosta back to the ground. Once there, Carracosta went into a Rollout and began rolling through the rocks to avoid both being crushed and being trapped by them. And that was exactly what Light hoped would happen.

"Light, there aren't many more rocks falling from the roof," Fennix said. "What are we doing?"

"Keep going as high as we can," Light said, continuing his climb as he did so. "Keep an eye on your Pops while we're at it. Eventually, he should slow down a lot from constantly using Rollout to break through the rocks. When that happens, I'm going to fall down at him with Volt Tackle while you should use Solarbeam. That should be enough to knock him out."

"And what about you?" Fennix asked.

"I'll be fine," Light responded. "Remember, I'm the careful one."

"Alright, got it," Fennix said confidently.

Light looked down and saw that Carracosta was finally started to slow down to a near crawl with his Rollout. So Light jumped off the stone he was on and fell to the ground, wreathing his entire body in electricity as he did so. A few seconds after he fell, his saw green enter his vision as Fennix's part of the attack was shot. The two attacks hit Carracosta at the exact same time, and when Light's part of the attack hit, he felt a large pain across his entire body, so much so that he closed his eyes and winced in pain for a few seconds. The attack also created a large amount of dust, which Light nearly choked on. Fatigue passed through his body as well, making his arms and hands shake because of it. Light wanted to just lie down and sleep, but he kept himself steady regardless.

Eventually, Light was finally able to open his eyes and the dust dissipated. When he looked down, he noticed that Carracosta was finally out from the two attacks. They were finally done.

 _W-we've won,_ Light thought.

Light reached into his bag and sifted through his items with shaking paws. He wanted more than anything to grab an Oran Berry and chow down on it, but he made a promise to Fennix to heal her father immediately after they won. So he grabbed a Reviver Seed instead and placed it on Carracosta.

Carracosta got up from being revived at the same time that Light collapsed, his fatigue finally getting to him. The pikachu remained as awake as possible, but the impulse to fall asleep creeped up to him. Luckily for him, Carracosta noticed Light's exhaustion and grabbed an Oran Berry from his bag to give to him. Light ate it immediately and felt the juices heal some of his wounds.

"Pops, are you okay?!" Fennix asked as she ran up to both him and Light.

"I will be fine," Carracosta said. "I'll likely need a good long nap after all this is over, but I will be fine, I assure you. But there are more important things right now."

"Oh, that's right," Fennix said with realization. "We can move on now, right?"

"Not exactly now," Carracosta said. "First, I have a question for the two of you. Right or wrong, you may pass, but I wish to see if you have been paying attention."

"W-what's the question?" Light asked.

"Not counting the Wilds, you have faced three battles in order to reach here," Carracosta said. "There is one common theme between all of them, aside from the Pokémon who were present. Focus specifically on how your opponents fought."

"Something the same? About how they fought?" Fennix asked.

Light thought about it as well as Fennix questioned. He thought back to the fights against Simipour, Nuzleaf, and Carracosta. Thought about what was the same between the three fights. And as he thought, he looked at Fennix. She was thinking about what her father said, sitting on the ground. He noticed pretty much the same things on her as he saw before, plenty of mud and dirt on her fur, but otherwise she didn't seem to be any worse for wear. She still had plenty of energy left, unlike Light. He was sure he was covered in bruises and scratches all over and he felt a completely lack of energy. As Light thought of the contrast between himself and his Partner, the answer to Carracosta's question became clear.

"They only ever attacked me," Light said, saying his answer as he thought it. "That's the common thing between the fights. Our opponents only ever attacked me. If Fennix was ever close to being attacked, it was due to an attack aimed at both of us. No one ever intentionally attacked Fennix."

"Wait…you're right!" Fennix said. "That's kinda odd. I mean, I can see why Pops didn't, Mister 'sometimes we have to do things we don't like, unless you're me…'" Fennix flashed Carracosta a look before continuing, "but why didn't Nuzleaf or Principal Simipour attack me?"

"Unless…are you…?" Light asked, further realization on his face.

Carracosta smiled. "Alright you three, follow me. It's time for you to meet Reminiscor."

Carracosta walked into the next room while Mawile and Fennix both walked to Light's side. "Light, have you figured it out as well?" Mawile asked.

"How long did you know?" Light asked Mawile.

"I guessed," she answered. "I wasn't completely sure until now, but I had my suspicions. That last entry actually convinced me."

"What are you two talking about?" Fennix asked.

"You'll see," Light said. "Let's head in."

So Light, Fennix, and Mawile all walked into the furthest chamber of the Purifying Cave, a chamber that, when the light reflects on it at just the right moment, the cave is bathed in a pure white and it's hard to see where all the walls are. That was the state the room was in when the trio walked in. Once they made it in they saw only one Pokémon there. Carracosta, with his back turned.

"Pops, what's going on?" Fennix asked as she walked forward. "I don't see anyone else around here. Where's Reminisc…wait…"

Light looked at Fennix and saw realization appear on her face. He knew that she finally figured it out and was looking at her face specifically for her reaction. However, nothing else appeared aside from complete shock. So he turned his attention back at Carracosta.

"Light, I have something to tell you," Carracosta said, his back still turned. "Forgive me if you've heard this before, but I want to ensure you know this. In our culture, minus a few exceptions, we only tell our Birth names to those who we hold absolute trust to."

"Yeah, Pancham told me earlier on this Expedition," Light said.

"Good," Carracosta said. "I want you to know this to understand the true depths of what I'm about to tell you. You three seem to have already figured it out, so I won't delay."

Carracosta turned around to face the three Pokémon. "My name is Augustus Carracosta Reminiscor, and I am the one who has sent you on your quest."


	25. Reminiscor

"Wha-wha-wha-what?!" Fennix asked, surprise still on her face. "P-Pops…you? You really are…Reminiscor?"

"Interesting name you've got there," Mawile said. "Augustus means 'One of Great Knowledge' in the Ancient Language. Fitting for someone like you I suppose."

"B-but…" Fennix said, continuing to stutter.

"I have a lot of questions," Light said, saying exactly what's on Fennix's mind.

"I suppose you do, but first, I feel I should explain," Carracosta said. "About myself and about how I became Reminiscor in the first place. Come close, you three, as I explain myself. This time in person, instead of on a tablet."

"I suppose you'll start with whoever it was that got all the treasure and the Harmony Scarves to keep, right?" Mawile asked.

Carracosta nodded. "That would be the best place to start. At the beginning of your Expedition…and the end of Mew's battle against Dark Matter."

"From what I've read about the Ancient Past, once Dark Matter was destroyed, the world turned into a time of rebuilding. Most Pokémon were restored back to normal, but the lives lost without being turned to stone were still lost. For many Pokémon, it was a time to bury their loved ones and rebuild the world."

"During that time of rebuilding, Mew tried his best to compensate his old allies for their service. I don't know what he did for most of his allies save for one. That treasure chamber that you found, the Gilded Chamber containing the treasures Mew once had? That was given to my ancestor, Wartortle."

"I suspected it was him," Mawile said. "What's better to compensate a former pirate then with gold and jewels? Plus, it was also the entry with the most information in it. Granted, it's because they spent the longest time interacting before they became true allies, but I still found the information specifically about Wartortle to be…interesting."

"I…suppose that would be my fault," Carracosta said. "He is my ancestor, so I know the most about him. It was the easiest tablet to write due to that knowledge."

"He was given the Harmony Scarves?" Light asked.

"As I said in my archive on him, he was very loyal," Carracosta explained. "I think Mew figured that out as well, which is why he gave the Harmony Scarves to my ancestor. Of course, Wartortle knew that it'd be difficult to ensure that the scarves made it to who Mew wanted it to. Time would cause that mission and many other memories to be lost. Therefore, he came up with a way to try and make sure the scarves and information regarding the Ancient Past made it over to the future. By starting the Reminiscor name."

"Starting the name?" Light asked.

Carracosta nodded and looked at him. "Actually Light, you are partially responsible for this. While you might not remember this yourself, you told Wartortle once that humans have a familial name, one given to every human in a single family, that way they can pass on their family name into future generations. My ancestor took that to heart and started a tradition of giving his children, and their children afterwards, the Reminscor name."

"Along with that came training. Initially, we were only to learn and remember the events of the Ancient Past. But as the language turned from the Ancient Language to another one, and as the language changed to the one we use now, a part of the training was to learn how to read and write in the Ancient Footprint Runes. It was a difficult task to accomplish, but those who take on the Reminiscor name are expected to learn that well, to ensure that there is no mistake in our knowledge of the past."

"That sounds like a…difficult process," Mawile said, surprise on her face. "It took me years to be able to translate Footprint Runes like I do, and I still find some shame in how slow I am."

"It isn't easy, granted," Carracosta said. "But it's also not required of any of my ancestors. We all chose to do this, it wasn't forced upon any of us. And Pokémon we adopt can take on the tradition too, if they so choose to."

"Pokémon we adopt," Fennix repeated quietly.

"Yes Fennix, including you," Carracosta said. "Had you not turned out to be Mew, that would have been my plan for you. Once you were older, I would have told you about our family legacy and would have given you the choice to continue the legacy. Even after you became Mew, I still had that plan, but you guys found that tablet and I knew your desperation to find out who gave you those scarves. So I had to slightly change my plans."

"So then…did you lie?" Fennix asked. "You always told me that you found the Harmony Scarves with me. And you even told me and Light that when we went to that forest. Was it all a lie?"

"In a sense, I will admit, yes," Carracosta said. "In other senses, I didn't. On that day when I first found you as just a little kit, I encountered you twice. You see, when I first came into that forest on that day, I did encounter you just as I said. It was an…interesting moment when I saw you under that tree. For generations my family had been passing down the Harmony Scarves for when the fennekin we were told about would be found and here I was, the Pokémon to do it. I almost didn't believe it at first, didn't believe you were the Pokémon. But not many others came to that forest due to its proximity to the sacred Revelation Mountain, so I knew you had to be the fulfillment of Mew's wish. So, since I had the Harmony Scarves with me, I wrapped you in them and went on my way. However, it was on my return trip that I saw you again and questioned what exactly Mew wanted in giving you those scarves. I also wondered how you got there in the first place and where your parents were. And in that questioning, I decided to take you in. From there, everything else I told you was the truth. I did try to find your parents and, failing that, adopted you myself. So what I told you was the truth, in a sense. I just concealed something else."

Fennix opened her mouth to say something, but Carracosta quickly spoke before her. "But I do apologize for deceiving you. I had always intended on telling you someday. But I wanted to make sure you were ready first."

"I…have a question," Light said. "D-did you know? About me and Fennix, this entire time? Did you know?"

"Did I know that my adopted daughter and the best friend she just met were the reincarnations of the best friends to my ancestor?" Carracosta asked. "At first, no. From what I've heard, how Mew acted during the Ancient Past and how Mew normally acted were two different things, but I wouldn't know how Mew normally acted in the first place. Knowing what I know now, I'd imagine Mew acted similar to Fennix before, but I have no way of knowing. So I took care of Fennix for these many years with not a single inkling that she might be Mew."

"As for you, Light, I'll admit I did pause for a moment when Fennix first mentioned your name. But I thought nothing of it at the time. And why should I? The Light I read about was a human and you are a pikachu. And then I heard that Light called himself a Human at school one day, but I still saw nothing of it except for a bid to gain attention, like most adults thought."

Light gave a hollow chuckle. "Y-yeah, I guess I kinda figured that's what most Pokémon thought. To be fair, you didn't really have much of a reason to believe otherwise."

"But then that night you both skipped school, I saw Fennix come back with a smile on her face and Harmony Scarf on her neck," Carracosta said. "The next day you came to see her and I saw it on yours to. I had to admit, seeing you two wear the same scarves that Light and Mew once wore struck a chord with me. I think at that point, I might have thought it was possible you were the Light I once knew. You looked so natural with that scarf on."

"It was when I turned to stone and saw the Voidlands firsthand that I finally knew the truth. The fact that I lived in the era where I fulfilled my promise to Mew, the fact that these events I once read about is happening today, I could not look at those two as mere coincidence. At that point, I knew that Light could only be the same human I read about. And if Light was the Light from the past, then I had to question whether Fennix had any connection as well."

"I remember that day when Light met with me to go to school," Fennix mentioned. "You asked Light to stay true to me, right?"

"I suppose I did ask something like that," Carracosta said. "I did so mostly because I knew you had finally found a friend, seeing you two in those scarves. But perhaps I also subconsciously was reminded of Light and Mew. I don't know, I'll admit. I could be speaking with the foreknowledge I have now."

"Going back to you, Fennix, it was rather interesting hearing your story the night you came back from saving the world," Carracosta said. "Hearing my daughter talking about the first fight against Dark Matter before I ever told her anything was not something I expected. Hearing that my daughter somehow caused Dark Matter to be gone for good by accepting it, instead of Mew who only temporarily quelled that being. I had to question how this was to be. Did Mew know that this girl would be able to do that and that's why he asked my ancestor to pass the scarves? Or was there something else about her?"

Carracosta looked at Fennix. "But no. It wasn't until Espurr broke into Light's mind and told us what he saw that I realized exactly what happened. My ancestors never suspected Mew ever made a plan like that. Both Mew and Light disappeared soon after peace was obtained, but nothing was made of it. It was expected that the human would return back to where he came after everything was over, and it was thought Mew decided after everything to disappear from the public eye. It wasn't until then when I realized what exact gambit they planned. That I realized I had been taking care of the reincarnation of the Pokémon my ancestor was second most loyal to. And that I had been raising her to eventually lead her to her destruction."

Carracosta looked at Light. "I never once blamed you for Fennix's disappearance. And that's because I knew full well the circumstances were beyond both either you or I could have conceived. Not that it wasn't a hard pill to swallow."

"Oh…okay," Light said in a hollow voice, not exactly expecting the conversation to go that direction.

"If only to get off that topic, I have a question myself," Mawile said. "How did you manage to know exactly when we got the last tablet in order to set up this test."

"…Don't hate her for doing this, but you may thank Espurr for that," Carracosta said.

"E-espurr?!" Fennix asked.

"Yes, the young girl was apparently rather curious as to what you two were doing," Carracosta said. "I caught her using her telepathy to keep an eye on the two of you. I intended on punishing her for spying on you two, but she calmly explained that she was just inherently fascinated with what you two were doing. So I decided to strike a deal with her, she can keep an eye on you two so long as I hear about what's happening. It didn't work all the time, as she couldn't use telepathy on you when you got too far away, but it gave me the general gist of what was happening. It also gave me an idea of when to place each of the tablets aside from the initial two I dropped off on the Water Continent."

Mawile chuckled. "I knew her telepathy had that power, but to think you were using it to keep an eye on us. I don't know whether to scold you or be impressed."

"We didn't even notice," Light said, trying to process that thought in his brain. "She's been keeping an eye on us all this time, and we didn't even notice. Even when we were together in the Sand Continent, she didn't seem like she was doing anything like that. But then again, I never thought to ask."

"Don't blame the young child too much," Carracosta said. "When she talked about what she gleamed from your minds, she sounded excited. Even if she tried to keep it as subdued as possible. I think she just longs for adventure, just like you did once, Fennix. In a sense, you two aren't so different."

"I guess," Fennix said.

"But now you know the truth about me," Carracosta said, putting the subject back on track. "I apologize for not telling the two of you sooner. But tradition has it that I wouldn't tell you until you were older anyways. I would have kept it that way, too, but I felt considering who you two are, you deserved to know the truth about your respective pasts and my family history."

Light rubbed the fur on the back of his head. "It's…kinda a lot to take in," the pikachu said. "But thanks for telling us, Carracosta sir. Even though I haven't fully remembered everything, I'm glad I got to remember a bit about my old friends."

Fennix looked down. "Yeah…thanks Pops. It was nice hearing about all them, too. I just…wish I could remember them too."

Carracosta looked at his daughter. "Unfortunately, I can't help you regain any memories," he said. "However, for making it this far, I do have a gift for you. It's the next best thing I can give you."

Carracosta walked into the middle of the cave and used his flippers to brush some of the dirt on the floor away. He eventually unearthed a book with a sky-blue binding. The Rock/Water-type took the book and returned back to the three Expedition Society members, presenting it to his daughter.

"I am not entirely sure on how my ancestors managed to gain this book, whether Wartortle himself was given it or one of my later ancestors found it seeking more information on the past," Carracosta said. "Regardless, it is another item that has been constantly passed down through my family line. However, I believe it is time to return it to its rightful owner."

"W-what is it?" Fennix asked.

"Something of Mew's, I'd imagine," Mawile said.

"That is correct," Carracosta said. "In fact, it was my main reference for all the archives I've given you. What I hold in my flippers here, is Mew's journal during the time of the first battle against Dark Matter."

Fennix's mouth opened up and she looked at the book with a wide-eyed stare. "T-this journal…is it really?"

"Yes," Carracosta answered. "It isn't a journal cataloguing Mew's entire life, however long that may be. It starts at the point where Light and Mew asked the Legendary Pokémon for assistance and ends where you would imagine it ending. So there are many questions you may have that this journal won't answer, like how Mew and Light met in the first place. But it will, at least, give you a detailed account of what happened at that time. Though I must warn you, it is written entirely in the Ancient Footprint writing."

"As to be expected about any writing from that time," Mawile said. Light looked at her and saw that she was also amazed at the book.

"Are you okay Mawile?" Light asked.

Mawile shook her head to snap out of her state. "Sorry," Mawile said. "It's just…this book is an amazing treasure to archeologists like myself. This is likely one of, if not the most detailed account of the Era of Darkness in existence. Something like this would turn the field of archology on its head. And it's been sitting In Serene Village this entire time. I…honestly have no words. To think, the moment we found the Gilded Chamber, we set in motion the events that would lead to a discovery on this level."

Mawile opened up her eyes wide in sudden reembrace. "Carracosta. You know this already thanks to your daughter, but we have all of the treasure from the Gilded Chamber in our possession at the Expedition Society's headquarters. Though there are no legal documents to prove anything, as second-in-command of the Expedition Society I am willing to return the treasure to you as your birthright."

"I don't need it," Carracosta said quickly. "I will give it to Fennix, as it is her inheritance. I would rather continue my quiet life in Serene Village and don't need those luxuries."

"All those jewels and gold?!" Fennix asked. "For me?!"

"Woo, we're rich!" Light said as he threw his paws into the air.

"We're rich?" Fennix asked. "I'm pretty sure Pops said that money was for me, not you."

"Well, aren't you always the one who says, 'your money is my money since we're both Partners,' whenever you want me to buy you something?" Light asked. "What, does it not work the other way?"

"Anyways," Fennix said, in a horrible attempt to change the subject. "As much as having that much money would be awesome, I don't know what I'd even do with it. So I'll just let the Expedition Society keep researching it."

"After we're done, I'll store it away for you to use later on in life," Mawile said. "That way, should you need it, it'll be there for you."

"There's one last thing I have for you, though this is more of a choice than anything," Carracosta said. "As I told you before, Fennix, the Reminiscor name does not necessarily need to be handed down by blood. Not yet, since you still have your work to do, but if you wish it, one day when you are on break from your duties to the Expedition Society, you may go through the training to help you better understand the ancient tongue. And afterwards, you may become Fennix Fennekin Reminiscor. However, unlike with your current Expedition, where it was your duty and obligation to complete it and therefore you had no choice, this time I will give you a choice. It will undoubtedly lead to more pain as you learn more of Mew's old allies, but…"

"I'll do it!" Fennix said without hesitation. Both Light and Carracosta gave her a wide-eyed look at her sudden announcement. "I…want to learn," Fennix explained herself. "That's what I sort of figured out during this Expedition. There are a lot of Pokémon in the past that did a lot of amazing things. And now they're gone. I don't want them to be forgotten, though. That's not fair to any of them. So no matter how much it hurts, I want to learn about them and make sure that they aren't."

"That's a very mature way of thinking about it," Carracosta praised. "I'm proud of you, Fennix. You have come a long way from that child who once did as she pleased regardless of what others think. Then, when you are ready, I will assist you in your learning."

Carracosta turned to face Light, next. "Light, normally this offer would only be given to Fennix, as tradition dictates. However, I am willing to break tradition and offer to teach you, too. Both because, as the same Light from the Ancient Past, I feel you deserve to know this information as well, and because you and Fennix are close enough that you might as well already be family."

"Th-thanks, Carracosta," Light said. "I'll definitely think about it."

"Don't misunderstand me, though," Carracosta said, his voice getting stricter and his flippers crossing. Light and Fennix both instinctively braced themselves for what he was about to say. "When I saw you two are close enough that you might as well already be family, do not take that as an excuse to engage in any relationship with Fennix beyond friendship."

Light and Fennix both took a step back in surprise at that statement, Light holding his paws out. "Pops, really?!" Fennix said with a groan. "Did you have to go there?!"

"N-no, we won't!" Light immediately defended. "W-we're way too young to be even thinking about that, I assure you, sir! I mean, we're both still kids!"

"Good," Carracosta said.

"Anyways," Mawile said. "I suppose we can consider this Expedition a success. A more resounding success then I initially thought, but a success nevertheless. Shall we move on home, then? Better then standing around in this damp cave full of bad memories."

"I guess so," Fennix said.

"I'll take the diary for now," Light said, grabbing the diary from Carracosta's flippers. "I'll put it in our bag for later."

"Sure," Fennix said. "I don't want to read it yet, anyways. After I'm done training with Pops, when I finally know the Ancient Language instead of just reading it on instinct, then I'll read Mew's journal."

"That sounds like a smart plan," Carracosta said.

The four Pokémon began to leave on their way to leave the cave. They went for a little bit until Fennix pressed herself against Light's side. So Light slowed down, letting Carracosta and Mawile got ahead, before looking at the fennekin to see what she wanted.

"Light, thanks for sticking with me," Fennix said when she got the pikachu's attention.

Light tilted his head to the side. "What's this about?" Light asked. "You know you don't need to thank me."

"I know I don't," Fennix said. "But I'm going to anyways. I'm just…I know I'm really selfish sometimes. I make a lot of mistakes. But…no matter what, you've stuck with me anyways. Back with Mew, and with me now. You've always been there. So thanks."

"You're my friend," Light said. "Nothing will change that. So again, you don't have to apologize. That's what friends are for."

"Then thanks for being my friend," Fennix said. "Let's keep doing our best out there."

"Back at you," Light said. They both slapped tails before moving on to catch up with the other two.


End file.
